


Nexus

by Lalaith_Quetzalli



Series: Nightingale [11]
Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV), The Avengers (Marvel Movies), Thor (Movies), Thor: The Dark World (Movie)
Genre: Awesome Jane Foster, Cameos, Cameos from the Secret Circle (first book trilogy), F/M, Good Loki, Minor Lesbian Relationship, Odin's Parenting, POV First Person, Parent Frigga, Thor Is a Good Bro, Thor: The Dark World
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-11-14
Updated: 2014-12-12
Packaged: 2018-02-25 09:13:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 50,773
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2616362
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lalaith_Quetzalli/pseuds/Lalaith_Quetzalli
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sequel to Nightingale </p><p>When one lives in a world where magic and science exist side by side, where individuals with extraordinary abilities walk the streets every day, the lines between myth and reality can become blurry. When the points align, the Veil will be lifted, and the Universe will never be the same again... </p><p>Thor: The Dark World rewrite.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. First Element: Earth

**Author's Note:**

> I'm back!!! 
> 
> After what seemed like forever, I'm now fully back on a Loki-centric mood, and on this series. Nexus is the official sequel to Nightingale (we're back to the main timeline). It's a rewrite of T:tDW, like I've said before, though obviously with a spin to fit with everything in Nightingale (all but the last paragraph of the Encore... please ignore that). 
> 
> This fic has a light-crossover with the first trilogy of books "The Secret Circle" by L.J. Smith, you don't need to have read the books to understand them, as they're just minor characters, though I do recommend them to you. 
> 
> Also, for those who don't know and might be interested:  
> Nexus: (noun) a connection or series of connections linking two or more things. 
> 
> And what's the Convergence but a Nexus between worlds? 
> 
> Almost forgot! I don't own Thor, Loki, the movies or anything else in the MCU, that's all Marvel's. Nightingale belongs to me (though not the actress I've chosen to play her), I'm not making any money out of this (though comments, kudos and such are worth much more to me than you'll ever know). Please don't sue, hope you enjoy!

Nexus

(Sequel to  _Nightingale_ )

_By: Lalaith Quetzalli_

_When one lives in a world where magic and science exist side by side, where individuals with extraordinary abilities walk the streets every day, the lines between myth and reality can become blurry. When the points align, the Veil will be lifted, and the Universe will never be the same again..._

**First Element: Earth**

Like the Earth we are solid, strong, it teaches us to care for all things that grow...

Murmurs all around seemed to drown the sound of my steps as I walked across what just a few hours earlier had been the site of a most vicious battle. The viciousness being actually the very reason why I was there in that moment, even if many couldn't understand it. After all, why should a goddess, a princess of Asgard, be walking through a bloody battlefield?

There are many ways such a question could be answered. I could say that I wasn't born either a princess or a goddess, I could say that I cared more about helping people than my own safety at times, I could say that I had as much right as everyone else to want to help and protect the realms; each and everyone of those answers would have been as true as the other, though there are some people that would have disliked one more than the others. My match has never liked me putting myself in danger, especially since I died... It's a long story.

The short version of it is that I am Lady Nightingale, goddess of Devotion, match and consort of Prince Loki, adopted son of Odin Allfather and Lady Frigg, the King and Queen of Asgard, born the bastard firstborn son of Laufey, the former King of Jotunheim.

The longer version of the story would be explaining that I was born Silbhé Arianna Kinross Salani, daughter of Sebastian Salani, an architect, and Aislinn Salani (nee Kinross), a musician (piano was her specialty); niece of Kathryn Adler Salani, former Agent of the MI5, the SSR and SHIELD. My mother died when I was very young, cancer. I was raised mostly by aunt Kathryn, as my father was always working (though she claims my dad spent a lot of time with me when I was a child, I just cannot remember it because of how sick I was at the time). And it's that at age five, after spending months getting weaker and sicker, a doctor finally diagnosed me with cancer, leukemia to be precise. I spent the next four years under treatment, which kept me at times so sick I've forgotten much of what happened back then (which, I guess, makes my aunt's words at least plausible). At nine I went into remission. And then, at eleven, I met a young black-haired, green-eyed individual that changed my life forever. His body looked like that of an eleven-year-old, and then I looked into his eyes... and I knew there was no way those eyes could belong to a child, there was too much in them (feeling, thoughts, history, shadows...) for that.

That was how I met Loki, though he introduced himself to me as Luka Hvedrungr (a name he later solidified as his human identity). Through the years I called him by many names: Maverick, Aquarius, rebel, my love, my match...

At fourteen the cancer came back, stronger than before, and the old treatments no longer worked. After I decided I had no interest in trying the newer, harder methods, I was given three months to live... I was ready then, it's not like I wanted to die, but I'd grown used to the idea. Until Loki interfered. Using something that had only existed in fiction (in a sci-fi novel I'd been reading at the time, in fact), he saved me; binding his life-energy to mine in the process. Back then I did not understand what that meant, exactly, I wouldn't for years.

I think I might have loved him from the very start. First in that way only children can love, so pure and innocent and unconditional; yet as I grew, that love changed, it never stopped being unconditional, but it went from the love of a child, of a sister or a dear friend, to the love of a girl, and then the love of a woman, all passion and surrender. I didn't breathe a word about it, first because I feared he might see me as too young, later because I didn't believe myself to be enough for someone like him. Until the day I almost lost him, found him again broken in body, mind and soul... I did my best to put him back together, and in the process did the same to myself.

It wasn't all smooth sailing after that, all the opposite. He was forced to go back to the abyss, to the one who'd tortured him so, pretending to be the pawn the awful creature wanted, in order to keep an eye on the Titan, and stall for as long as possible, giving time for Midgard to be ready for the war to come. I did my best to make sure Earth would be ready. It wasn't enough, yet again, we'd known it'd be almost impossible. At least they managed to survive and achieve victory (as much as one can call it victory when the true enemy was never on the field, half his army still remained, and there had been so many deaths...); I suppose it could have been worse.

So much happened in the next year, though I was only truly conscious and focus for about half of it. In the end my beloved was given a chance, and I with him. They tried, Thor, Jane, Phil and the rest of the Avengers. They listened when my match and I told our story, and at least some did their best to keep an open mind, to understand why we'd done the things we did. There was one other person too, though she did much more than try: Darcy Lewis. She heard it all, smiled, and offered her friendship like it was the most natural thing in the world. She was probably our truest friend in any realm.

The Chitauri went back for a second battle a year after the first. That one was better planned. It took place in the desert rather than the middle of an over-populated city, no innocent civilians were involved, and few people died, all but one full-fledged Agents of SHIELD who knew exactly what they were getting into... There was one more person who died though, the only non-Agent casualty; and while the cause listed was in no way related to the chitauri, SHIELD or the battle that had taken place, those involved knew better. The name: Professor Salani-Hvedrungr.

That was the day I died. And it's not a figure of speech. I left my last breath in my beloved's lips, having asked for one last kiss, before opening my eyes again to the 'mist and shadow' realm that was Helheim, home and kingdom of my match's daughter: Lady Hel Lokidottir. It was she who truly explained to me the depth of the bonds that tied Loki and I together. And it wasn't even only the deamarkonian anymore, for I had unlocked that during the battle, to make it impossible for the Titan to use me against my consort, it was what killed me, as Loki's energy stopped battling the cancer and it finally took me, like it ought to have when I was fourteen (I was 21 at the time, which meant I still got to have seven extra years). She told me that the deamarkonian might have been the beginning, but the bonds between us went far beyond that; they were unbreakable. And it was that which gave me a chance to go back... the catch: If I did I would be like Loki, no longer human, an immortal, I would never know the death humans took for granted, the afterlife, the chance to rest... (Immortality is much more complicated than vampire romance novels make it seem) I said yes, I knew it wouldn't be easy, my brain couldn't even process the idea of living for thousands of years... but as long as it meant getting a chance to be with Loki, I was willing to take it, was willing to do anything.

I got to Asgard right on time to do what I vowed to do the night Loki first came back to me, after the mess of Thor's near-coronation, the near-war with Jotunheim, his short time as King and the vicious battle of brothers on the edge of a broken Rainbow Bridge (from which my beloved fell, straight into the abyss). After treating his physical injuries, and doing my best to deal with his mental and emotional ones, I vowed to stand by him, always, no matter what; I promised, first silently to myself, later on to him, that if I ever got the chance I would stand by him before all of Asgard, and I would show them the kind of man my beloved truly was.

My beloved was scarred, the marks on his skin may no longer be visible, not since my healing gift first manifested in the aftermath of the lashing he was subjected to as the first part of his punishment, during his second trial; but the scars were still there, invisible to the eye and touch. They were on me too in a way, because I could remember every touch of the whip, every searing lash, leather biting into skin and muscle... I would never understand how no one had realized it, despite how many times the bond between us had been mentioned; neither do I know where I got the strength to hold my pain (my whimpers and screams) in throughout it all, maybe it was part of the same strength that allowed him to keep silent as well. And it wasn't just the lashes either, it was also the torture he was subjected to after falling through the abyss, endless time compressed into one month (there was a reason why I hardly ever talked about those weeks).

Things did not end with that second trial, though. Though, even with the whipping, we counted that as a victory, in a way. I was recognized as Loki's match and consort, even if I didn't really need anyone's approval or blessing to become immortal (I already was), our marriage was finally legal, and the Aesir were beginning to accept it (not fully, how could they when they didn't even accept my beloved fully?).

Then the magik storm happened, and everything changed... again. We were already in trouble, because we'd violated the 'palace arrest' and gone to Midgard to save Gwen Stacy when the Green Goblin almost killed her on Queensboro Bridge (Heimdall was actually the one who warned about it, but I never gave him up). Then the storm happened, and no one was doing anything! Because magik storms couldn't be stopped, and they were all used to dealing with the aftermath... and then we found out it'd just hit the East District... the school to be precise. It was then that my husband and I decided to ignore the Elders and their babbling and just go and do something. We might not have been able to stop the storm, but Loki could certainly deal with the fire that it'd started, while I used my own magic to first teleport the people out, and then heal those that needed it most.

A lot changed that night: Asgard found out its second prince (whom they'd recently learnt was adopted) was in fact a Jotun; yet no one could really complain about it, not with all the children (and a few adults) singing him praises for what he'd done. Asgard also found out that I could heal, a rare gift, referred to as a blessing; when I explained that I got my magic from my match, one then had to assume that he was the blessed one, therefore it shouldn't matter that he was a Jotun, if the Higher Powers had given him the rarest of all blessings in the 9 Realms! Asgard could also see that there was more to Loki than mischief and lies, he was a protector... and so was I.

After that things went easier. The Elders couldn't exactly keep punishing us when the children we'd saved and their families loved us so... So we were free to leave the palace (even if not Asgard). I felt like it was right then that our new life truly began.

My father died, not long after that day. I got the opportunity to say goodbye, thanks to my step-daughter. Then I was left to mourn, I may have grieved more over the father I could have had, than the one I actually did, but it hurt all the same.

Things should have been better after than, and they were, until the Elders saw fit to manipulate my match into going to Jotunheim to settle matters... knowing fully well that the Frost Giants would want to kill him. I wasn't about to stand for that, so I went (who cared that they refused to let me, it's not like I needed the permission, or the means, I had the will and the power). Not sure how it happened, exactly, but I managed to not only stop King Helblindi from killing Loki, and also got him to agree to the start of peace treaty; even ended with a son (Helblindi's own runt son, Hákon, Loki and I adopted him). He became mine... my boy... my son...

"Princess Nightingale!" A voice calling from right in front of me pulled me from my memories.

Before me stood a tall woman, with hair like the threads of the lightest gold, almost more gold than platinum, falling straight down her back in a very loose braid, her eyes somewhat small and the most beseeching amber color; she was dressed in a style similar to Sif, except her armor had a golden hue and the clothes underneath were pale-brown, her boots made of tanned leather; she wore a brown cloak over-herself (much simpler than my own plum colored one, but no less useful), though the two most attention-drawing details of her were the ten daggers strapped to her body, eight small, stiletto style and the same platinum-gold as her armor, the last two a bit wider, longer, with a bladed side, and a darker gold color; the other detail was the woven bracelet around her right-wrist: one strand made of tanned leather, another of her own platinum hair, and the last of dark-silvery-gray hair only few in all the realms knew who it belonged to...

She was a Valkyrie, one of the few female warriors to have been to Valhalla and been allowed back, the warrior ladies under the service of Queen Frigg (just like the honorable Eihenjar served Odin Allfather). As I'd discovered since my arrival to Asgard, Sif wasn't an oddity for being a warrior-lady in itself, but because she fought like a Valkyrie, among them even, without having set foot in Valhalla. Her name was Ylva... and she was also Fenrir's match.

Fenrir, known by several names: Fenris Wolf, the demonic wolf, monster... some believed him to be an offspring of my beloved, but that wasn't true. There was a connection, but not one of blood. Loki had found Fenrir when he was still young, taught the creature to control its inherent powers, to change its size and form (he could take a humanoid shape) at will. It'd gone well until Fenrir set his eyes on Lady Idunn (of the Golden Apples) and desired her. He was more wolf than man, and his courting seemed to the lady more like hunting... she did not understand, and sent the Asgardian army after him. Only my beloved's prompt intervention saved Fenrir's life, though he was forbidden from ever setting eyes on the lady again, and eventually someone went as far as to create a magical barrier that kept him pretty much imprisoned in a dark clearing deep in the oldest forest of Asgard.

So, Midgardian myth got a lot wrong, where it came to Fenrir. He wasn't a Lokison (though my husband did love him like a son, as did I after getting a chance to know him), there was no sword running through his mouth, nor chains keeping him tightly bound, nor any specially dwarven tie holding him in place (even if he was, indeed, imprisoned). The nature of his prison, though, allowed him to move inside the limits of the meadow (which wasn't exactly small); it also allowed him to receive visitors (it was made to make it impossible for him to escape, but any other living being was free to come and go as they pleased). It was how Loki got to visit and spend time with him, same as me, and his match: Ylva.

No one knew for sure how those two had met, and while the Elders hadn't exactly approved, enough people had spoken up for the Valkyrie's trustworthiness, her loyalty, and her prowess in battle, so in the end no one tried anything against her, or Fenrir. She'd been handpicked by my love to be one of my handmaidens and my personal guard after the first attempt on my life (there were some who, regretfully, still saw my husband and my son as monsters, and myself as an abomination for standing by them).

"Yes Ylva?" I asked softly, forcing my mind to focus on the present.

"We're here, my lady." If she noticed my absent-mindedness she did not mention it.

Which meant also, that no one else was close enough to notice (she'd have mentioned it if there had been); that was good, what wasn't, was the princess of Asgard being so distracted while standing where only a couple of hours earlier a vicious battle had taken place. Especially because, even if that battle had been won, there were still Marauders in Vanaheim, and they could be hiding anywhere (hence the need for a bodyguard, even though we'd long since dealt with the dissenters in Asgard).

Indeed we were 'there'. In this case, 'there' being the medical tent set up on the edge of the camp. Far away enough from the army tents that the boisterous, impromptu celebration taking place right then wouldn't bothered those who needed to focus on recovering, or the few healers that had volunteered to travel with the army as they took care of the Marauders across the Nine Realms They were few, and mostly low-level healers, who sought to take advantage of the war to get ahead in rank faster than they would have working in the palace or anywhere else during peace. It was why I'd been called, even if my formal experience was less than most, my abilities (both with herbs and magic) far surpassed that of any of them; Lady Eir herself had taught me all she knew about magical healing, she also said I just seemed to have an instinct for it, as if I'd had the gift forever, or simply been meant for it all along.

Without saying a word I stepped past Ylva and straight into the tent. I waited just long enough for the healers and the couple of guards (unhurt ones) present to acknowledge me before Ylva took off my cloak. I was left in my knee-length plum-colored riding dress, knee-high dark-leather boots and arm-guards. My hair was in a bun at the nape of my neck. It wasn't the kind of clothes most people were used to seeing me in; while in Asgard I always wore simple dresses and sandals, my favorite being a sleeveless lilac one with a white sash and white slippers. There was a certain likeness of my riding dress with the kind of attire the Valkyries wore... except I wore no such armor (only an aketon, reinforcements for my arm-guards, boots and finger-less gloves), then again, I did not need it, every single piece of that ensemble was spelled to be as resistant as the best dwarven-forged armor, without being as heavy or cumbersome.

I began working right away. Mostly using healing stones, elixirs and herbs, and only aiding those with a bit of magic when the wound I was treating was particularly delicate. Aesir might heal fast, but as they were still in the middle of a conflict it was especially important that they recover as quick as possible; for them and Asgard as a whole.

A couple of hours later, things changed abruptly. I wasn't surprised that I hadn't yet seen neither hair nor hide of my match, or my brother-in-law, as they were both most likely working on keeping morale high, while preparing a strategy for the next battle. I'd heard there were plans to disassemble the camp and move on to the next location at first light the next morning. They were done with that sector... which is why no one was expecting the attack that came:

The sound was like that of glass breaking, and suddenly a corner of the tent was in flames. A corner of my mind remembered the molotov coctails gangs sometimes used back in my home-world; the rest of me was more focused on doing something to solve the matter. No one was expecting an attack, and to that same level, it was like no one seemed to know what to do.

Eventually one of the healers moved, she took a pitcher of water from a nearby table and threw it at the fire... it did nothing.

"It's magical fire!" She cried out nervously.

I knew what that meant, so I took another pitcher and moved closer to the growing fire.

"Water will never put out a magical fire, my lady!" The same healer told me, afraid.

"I know." I told her calmly, before putting my hand inside the pitcher and calling: "Vann..."

At first one would think nothing happened, until I pulled my hand back out of the pitcher, pulling the water with it. I focused, allowing my magic to seep into the liquid for several seconds, before pointing my hand in the direction of the fire and commanding the water to follow it. It worked, the magic-charged water dousing the fire in the way the other one hadn't been able to.

"It worked!" The healer girl cried out gratefully. "Oh, thank you princess!"

"Don't thank me yet." I told her, tone more grim than I'd intended. "It's not over. Those that attacked are still out there, and failing won't plan probably won't stop them from trying again."

That finally made the two guards react as they went to deal with the attackers, I suspected two men wouldn't be enough.

"My lady, I should take you to Prince Thor and Prince Loki." Ylva told me quietly.

"We're not leaving these healers and injured warriors to the mercy, or lack thereof, of the bunch of attacking marauders Ylva." I told her seriously.

She knew I was serious, had known me long enough for that (and it's not like my exploits before that were a secret, for that matter Thor seemed to get some strange pleasure out of making them all as public as possible... there was a reason I was called the goddess of Devotion, considering everything I'd done, and the reason why I'd done it all).

"Very well, princess." She nodded, resigned, at me. "Just, please, stay inside, I shall go help."

She did as she said, which actually did help. I went to stand at one of the openings to the tent, watching the unplanned battle progress. The two guards were young and had little experience, still, they were trying very hard to keep almost half a dozen Marauders away. Ylva herself was doing her part, with her very particular battle style, she'd already taken down two opponents and was in that moment dealing with two others.

What none of us was expecting was the moment two others threw more fire-bombs: two at us, at the tent, and two more at the fighters. I got a fraction of a second to ponder on how little the Marauders seemed to care for their own comrades, before my instincts took hold, I was moving before I was fully conscious of it. Running out the tent and to stand as close to the fights as I could (without actually getting in the middle of it), I threw both arms out, even as my fingers traced runes in the air, calling:

"Algiz!"

The shield shimmered into place just in time, causing two of the firebombs to bounce right off it and back in the direction of those who'd thrown them; causing upon secondary contact a blaze big enough to consume them. The other two burnt in contact with the shield, which made it harder than I was expecting to keep it up, though I did manage to, in the end.

While I'd learnt to use magic (at least my most used spells) without having to draw runes in the air, or call them out-loud, the magic seemed to be stronger when I did, as if something in those actions focused the power better. Lady Frigg said it was a consequence of using a power I wasn't born with, and which technically didn't belong to me (even if, with the strength of our bonds, the phrase 'what's mine is yours, what's yours is mine' held more meaning than ever before, anywhere else).

Everyone turned to look at me in that moment, shocked at the turn of events. Apparently it was one thing to hear my brother talk about my 'adventures' in Midgard (and Jotunheim), and a very different one to actually see me stand up to a number of enemy warriors. There was much time to ponder on such details, though, as two of the marauders the guards had been fighting managed to get away from the Aesir and ran straight at for me instead.

"Princess Nightingale!" Ylva called, distressed.

I directed a calm look at her, even as she did her best to take down her own opponents as fast as possible to run in my defense. I knew there was no need to worry. And I was proven right when, before they had even given the fifth step, my two would-be attackers, fell, each with an ice blade running them through (one the neck, the other the forehead).

"My Maverick..." I called softly, still not moving.

He was beside me in a second, a protective arm around my back.

"My Nightingale.." He murmured in return, his voice turning cheeky. "I leave you alone for a little while and you go looking for trouble!"

"I don't go looking for it... it just keeps finding me." I replied in the same tone. "And it's not like I was defenseless."

I was right, and he knew it. The moment the fire had vanished I'd let the shield fall, instead reaching for two of my daggers, which were in my hands in that very moment. I was ready to fight. Though that had become completely unnecessary when I felt my beloved's aura approaching rapidly, he'd become aware of the attack.

"Sister mine!" Thor called loudly as he joined us. "Are you well?"

"Just fine Thor." I assured him calmly.

And I was, the battle was over already, a handful of warriors had arrived right behind the two princes (most notably were Sif and Hogun among them) and dealt with the remaining Marauders (though Ylva and the two guards had done a good job on their own, too).

"This should have never happened..." Thor murmured. "This sector was supposed to be free of Marauders already."

Thankfully there hadn't been much damage. Loki dealt with the burnt hole on the tent in a matter of seconds, and aside from a few scraps and bruises, and one shallow cut, the guards were just fine, Ylva's wounds were even less than that; also, seeing how I was a healer, I would be dealing with those details shortly.

"I told you it was unwise to treat this realm as if it were completely separate sectors." Loki said seriously. "Unlike realms like Alfheim and Nidavellir, the geography in Vanaheim is not such that you can completely isolate one area from the others."

"What do you propose then?" Thor asked, acknowledging the wisdom behind his brother's words.

"We need to create patrols and leave them in each zone where we manage to defeat our enemies." Loki proposed. "Small enough that we won't weaken ourselves after we've left several groups behind, but not so much that they're in risk of losing if strays attack them after we're gone."

"Could your magic be used to create some sort of alert system, in case one of the patrols needs additional help at any moment?" Thor inquired.

"It would be possible, yes." Loki admitted, liking the idea. "Though the effectiveness of that plan will depend on where the army is if and when the call comes."

Thor nodded, it was a risk, he knew it, we all did... but it was also probably the best plan they had, at least it was better than risking fighting in circles around Vanaheim, never being able to take out all of the Marauders.

"Maybe you should leave now, sister." Thor said next, turning to me, worry evident in his every feature. "Before there is another attack."

"If you think I'm leaving without making sure everyone here is as healed as I can make them you know me not at all, brother..." I stated seriously.

As if to further prove my point I spun around before marching back to the tent. Thor didn't say anything further, didn't try to stop me, while my husband simply chuckled at my stubbornness before going after me. He wouldn't try to stop me from doing what I felt needed to be done; he also wouldn't be leaving my side for anything until I was safely back on Asgard.

It took a couple of hours longer, then my job was finished and I was back on the Observatory in Asgard, with a promise of my match that he would be back in a fortnight. That was good, I'd missed him so, as had our children. Thankfully Vanaheim was the only realm still with trouble from the Marauders, once things were finished there we ought to have peace and the chance for some quality family time... I could hardly wait.

**xXx**

" _Your dilly-dandling to that mortal realm shall stop." Odin called, voice full of authority._

_We were standing on the throne room: Odin, Frigg, Thor, Loki, Hákon and myself. It'd been our intention to make another trip to Midgard, like we'd been doing every so often since my birthday party almost three months before. I didn't believe our travels were causing any trouble, judging by Odin's tone of voice an expression it would appear I'd been wrong._

" _What does that mean, Father?" Thor asked, tense, he already knew he wasn't going to like the answer, whatever it might be._

" _It's time you, all of you, fulfill your duties as princes and princess of Asgard." The man stated, in a somewhat pompous tone (at least to my ears). "Too long have I allowed you to drift, to waste your time spending it with those Midgardians. You are part of the royal family of Asgard, and your duties are to all the realms in Yggdrasil."_

_None of us spoke, none of us knew what to say. If I was honest with myself, a part of me had known it was coming. Odin had already bent more than expected, allowing my match to Loki to stand (not that we'd given him much of a choice), I was sure that the last thing he wanted was to risk Thor choosing to bind himself to a human too. The part Odin didn't seem to realize was that it was too late for that too, I'd been able to see the beginnings of Thor's and Jane's bonds even before I died, and they'd only grown since then, though I wasn't sure anyone besides me and Loki had noticed yet._

" _Marauders have been laying waste to towns and cities across the Nine Realms." The Allfather continued in the same time. "You shall put a stop to it. It's time everyone remembers the might of Asgard, and of its army..."_

_I was horrified by the idea of places being destroyed, innocents hurt by what, in my mind, amounted to inter-dimensional terrorists. However, that didn't stop me from noticing the words Odin Allfather used to explain what ought to bee done, which made it sound like he didn't really care about the people or the places, only about showing off his army, and his sons._

_Of course I wasn't to participate in the upcoming battles in any way. It wasn't proper... and while usually I would ignore such things, there was the fact of my son. There was no way I was leaving Hákon alone for spirits-know-how-long. Especially when I did not trust Odin to do right by the child (I'd already seen how wrong he'd done by my love). So, even though I'd promised both myself and my match that the next time something happened I would be by his side... I wouldn't. He understood, of course, he loved Hákon as much as I did (and, knowing him as I did, he was probably relieved I wouldn't be putting myself in danger)._

" _We shall make sure the Nine Realms are safe." Thor nodded, knowing it was necessary._

" _But we shall make one more trip to Midgard first." Loki added, as if it had been planned. "We are not leaving our friends without giving them a reason, leaving them to believe we've been hurt, or worse, that we're abandoning them. They've done too much for us and deserve at least that much respect from everyone..."_

_It was criticism directly to the Allfather, disguised as it was in Loki's speech, we all knew it, though none of us mentioned it. Odin himself said nothing, just waving us away. He probably knew he wouldn't have been able to stop us; and in the end, it's not like he needed to, he'd gotten what he wanted, the trips to Midgard would stop..._

Almost a year had passed since that day. It hadn't been easy, saying goodbye to all our friends. Especially after having lived with most of them for a good part of those months (whenever we were on Earth) and before I'd died.

Tony, as could be expected, insisted on a farewell party before our departure, everyone was there: Jane, who refused to leave Thor's side all day, not knowing when she would see him again (she knew the option of following him wasn't available to her); Tony and Pepper, who'd just returned from their honeymoon in some private island; Bruce, Betty and little Robbie, who'd recently been reunited, with Tony's help; Clint and Natasha, who outside the tower kept acting like the perfect emotionless agents, while inside it they'd stopped hiding their relationship; Steve, whose badly-hidden grin told everyone that his 'weekend getaway' had gone quite-well (more even), though he refused to tell anyone about it; Darcy and Phil, who had come out as a couple right after the birthday party; Peter and Gwen, engaged, living together, going to college and planning to marry right after graduating; Harry and MJ, living together as well, and trying to find a balance with their extremely different lives as CEO and theater actress; even Fury had dropped by for a little while.

The only person missing was Aunt Kathryn. It'd taken me a lot to convince Fury that she was family and, as such, deserved to know the truth. I think that his own old connection with her might have helped in the end (even if I myself didn't know exactly how deep that connection ran), for he agreed. The problem: Aunt Kathryn had gone back to working with the 'Doctors Without Borders' program after my father's funeral and was somewhere in south Africa (or so we thought), with no planned return anytime soon. The powers in that continent, both from mutant and other old tribes that still held onto the old-traditions and gifts, were such that neither Loki nor I were able to track her with our magic. We would have to wait until she returned.

After Odin's 'order' of stopping our trips to Midgard I couldn't help but think that maybe it was a good thing that I hadn't seen my aunt before that. She would have never let me go quietly, and it wasn't like I could exactly oppose the Allfather's orders, he was my King. Also, the order actually had some logic behind it, as it was important that Asgard take care of the Marauders, and who better to lead the army than Thor and Loki?

It wasn't easy, while some people (mostly those born after the Great War) were willing to give my beloved a chance, and the children downright loved him (some insisted it was awesome that he was blue and could control ice), there were also girls who found me fascinating for some reason (I suspected it was my small size, some of them were as tall as I!); most Warriors, though, still hated Jotunheim and its inhabitants for what had happened during the war. Even the treaty that we'd been working on with King Helblindi hadn't been enough to change their minds. The worst part was that the resentment that extended to Loki, since everyone had found out the truth about him after he'd revealed his own skin during that magik storm. And even if his bloodline weren't the problem, there were those connected enough to the Council or others in the palace to know at least some of what had happened in Midgard... it did not matter if my Maverick's intentions may have been noble. I honestly believed that Aesir couldn't comprehend things like secrecy, subtlety and the use of underhanded tactics. And the fact that Odin Allfather had, from my point of view, bowed to the pressure from the Council of Elders to actually charge and punish him, even though the King knew exactly why his second son had done the things he did, only cemented those ideas. For them if it wasn't done directly and in full view, it was cowardice (which was absolutely ridiculous!) but still, it explained why they simply couldn't understand Loki and the way he did things.

At least he'd Thor. The blonde had proven he truly loved Loki as a brother, and cared not at all about his parentage, his power, or the questionable things he might have done either while Thor was banished to Midgard, or after his fall from the Rainbow Bridge. So strong were his beliefs that he had no compunction about expressing them, loudly, to anyone who might think differently. I just hoped that, ever so slowly, he would be able to teach others to trust Loki as well. Otherwise eternity in Asgard would get boring pretty quickly... It's not like we actually had to stay in Asgard forever, I did like the idea of seeing other realms... but still, it was supposed to be our home...


	2. Second Element

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There's been a change of plans (nothing big, I assure you). See, originally this fic was only going to go into Thor 2, and an episode of AoS... now I'm adding another plotline here, once that, though I'd already begun hinting towards, wasn't going to truly bring up until much later. Until my muse smacked me in the back of the head (figuratively) and pointed out that if I did that, some things would have very little impact, so it was better if I included it here (you'll see what I mean). Also, for that same reason, rather than going into a second round of AUs after Nexus, we shall be going into another Side-story, one that will go in-depth into the new plotline (while you'll get enough here to understand it, most details will be in the other fic). It's called Necklace of Songs (you'll see why). 
> 
> Another important point is the timeline. It must be obvious by now, but I'm saying it anyway: my timeline is in no way Marvel's. I rearranged dates and times to fit with what I wanted in my head. A lot of things are happening later than they did in Marvel's plan (we're right now in 2015, rather than 2014), and things have lasted longer (Avengers happened on the course of a week, rather than two days). Bellow, a simple timeline, so you get a better idea: 
> 
> 2011 - Nightingale finishes her Masters at 19. Events of Thor 1. Marriage between Nightingale and Loki. Nightingale goes to work for SHIELD. 
> 
> 2012 - Events of Avengers. Nightingale reveals herself as Loki's match. First trial, the Pit, Nightingale falls into a coma. 
> 
> 2013 - Loki's return, Nightingale awakens. Second chitauri invasion, Nightingale dies. She meets Hel, chooses to forsake her 'human death' to stay with Loki and goes to Asgard. Loki's second trial and punishment. Events of the Encore (Nightingale) and The Return (side-story). Events of Iron Man 3. 
> 
> 2014 - Nightingale's birthday party. Beginning of the War against the Marauders. 
> 
> 2015 - (January) Beginning of AoS. (May) End of the War against the Marauders. Events of Thor 2. And so on... 
> 
> There, I hope that explains where we stand right now. Any doubts you're welcome to ask. If it's something that will come up later on I'll let you know, otherwise I have no problem explaining things. 
> 
> The song in the chapter is "Hero" by Enrique Iglesias... if you want to know how it sounds sung by a girl, just go to youtube and type: "Hero, Enrique Iglesias, female" it's the first result by Saellyn 136. 
> 
> And that's that for now, this time there are no notes at the end (because I have a feeling people are going to want to kill me...). Anyway, see ya next week!

**Second Element: Fire**

From Fire we love its light and heat, it also makes us respect and fear it's destructiveness...

Two weeks after my short visit to Vanaheim I was sitting on my favored desk in a corner of the huge Asgardian Library. I'd spent a great deal of time since my arrival to the Golden Realm reading everything I could get my hands on (it was a good thing I knew so many languages, as the older texts weren't in English). I was learning a lot, focusing mostly in things I thought I might need most: history, healing, politics, the realms and races of Yggdrasil, among others.

"Princess Nightingale..." A soft voice called.

I raise my head to find my head-handmaiden: Sigyn, blonde, blue-eyed, in a light-gold dress; whenever I was in the palace she was the one to follow me around, make sure I had everything I needed. At first it had been hard, having someone so willing to serve me all the time (that and having someone follow me virtually everywhere), and the worst, I actually had six.. though only Sigyn seemed to have the bravery to actually go looking for me whenever I managed to slip away from the others; it probably had something to do with the fact that she and Loki were friends (if she could handle my match, she could certainly handle me).

"Yes?" I raised my head, confused.

It was too early for supper and I'd already had lunch (or, at least, what I called lunch when I was so completely focused in my reading, which was some tea and pastries, maybe a cold sandwich).

"You asked to be alerted when the princes returned, my lady." She informed me.

That was really all that needed to be said. Before I was even fully conscious of my actions I had closed all my books, leaving markers on the right pages, before standing up and making for the door (I didn't need to clear the desk, the servants would leave my things there until I no longer needed them). Sigyn didn't bother trying to follow me; she knew that when I got that focused I began moving fast, and if I got to impatient I was liable to use magic to get myself where I needed to be, so there was really no point.

I never expected to end up witnessing what was most likely meant to be a private conversation between Thor and Odin on the very terrace I meant to cross as a shortcut to where I could sense my beloved waiting:

"For the first time since the Bifrost was destroyed, the Nine Realms are at peace." The Allfather was telling his heir. "We are well reminded of our strength and you have earned their respect and my gratitude."

"Thank you." Thor murmured, though his attention seemed somewhere other than on the present time and place. "I couldn't have done it without my brother."

"Indeed." The King agreed, before taking a more careful look at his son. "Nothing out of order except your confused and distracted heart."

"This isn't about Jane Foster, Father." Thor said, seemingly tired.

It wasn't the first time the two argued about Jane, for the most part Loki and I kept ourselves away from those discussions, as did Lady Frigg; in the end I simply did not see the point, what was meant to be, would be.

"Human lives are fleeting." Odin stated abruptly, coldly. "They're nothing. You'll be better served by what lies in front of you."

I felt as if I'd just been slapped. It's not like I was ignorant of his less than positive views on mortals, but still! I wondered if he only accepted me because I was already bonded to his son, or that I was no longer mortal... or maybe it'd simply been the pressure put on him by his wife and other son recognizing our match before witnesses...

It was also quite obvious, at least to my eyes, that Thor took offense to the older man's words. And really, at least in that instance, it wasn't just about Jane Foster, but also about Darcy, Erik, Phil, the Avengers... so many humans we knew, who deserved better than the Allfather's cold and callous words.

"I'm telling you this not as the Allfather, but as your Father." The man insisted, seemingly not noticing how much his firstborn really did not like hearing him say such things. "You are ready. The time has come to take the throne." He motioned his son to where people were moving in the lower level. "Embrace it and celebrate what you have won. Join your warriors, eat and drink. Revel in their celebration. At least pretend to enjoy yourself."

It was true, a party was about to begin, and since the celebration was for the final defeat of the Marauders, the return of peace across the Nine Realms, I would be expected to make an appearance as well, probably to sing too... most of the Aesir seemed to like it when I sang, I'd even heard some murmur comparisons of my voice with that of the elves, one in particular, though I could never remember the name.

"Eavesdropping my love?" My match's voice was suddenly whispering in my ear. "Such unladylike behavior!"

I was still trying to regulate my breathing after the scare his sudden appearance at my side gave me, only to hear him chuckle before he reached for my arm to turn me around. For a fraction of a second I considered giving him a piece of my mind, I really didn't like it when he mocked me (even if it was in good fun), but the moment I laid my eyes on him all I could think about was how much I'd missed him. Even if I'd seen him just a couple of weeks before, it had been so long since I got the chance to spend more than a few hours, maybe a night, with him... I could not hold myself back, I did not even try, simply threw myself at him, capturing his mouth with mine in a most passionate kiss.

"Wow..." My love breathed out when we broke the kiss after a while. "I... wasn't expecting that."

"I missed you so much..." I told him as an explanation.

He smiled at me. It looked like he was about to say something when he both heard approaching footsteps. Before I even got the chance to worry that we might be found he took hold of my arm and teleported us out of there and straight into our chambers.

"That was close..." I said, unable to stop myself from giggling.

I would be feeling quite different if I'd actually been caught, especially by Odin; and as flustered as his discovering me there would have made me, I was still annoyed enough I had a hard time guessing what my exact reaction would have been. But as we hadn't been caught, I couldn't help but feel like a mischievous little girl in that moment. Also, it felt good to laugh, I'd had so little reason to do so in recent months, always worrying about the war, about anything happening to my love; and whenever Hákon would hear the people talking about the war, only to then go running to me to ask about it, if his dad was really killing people, if he was going to die, if he would have to go to war too one day...?

It was one thing I really did not like about Asgard, how so many people talked about things like battle, war and death so openly, not caring that children might hear them, not caring how listening to such things might affect them. And Hákon was such a sweet, sensitive little boy... Lady Frigg was always saying he was just like Loki at that age, it made me wonder how many times my love had been hurt by words as much as by blades and bodies, and all because some insensitive individuals couldn't bring themselves to care...

"I've missed your laughter." My Maverick said right then. "Missed all about you so much. Even if I saw you just two weeks ago... it feels like it's been longer..."

"Like it's been a lifetime." I finished for him.

"Yes." He agreed wholeheartedly. "Every time we are parted, for whatever the reason, I cannot help but feel like lifetimes pass before we get the chance to reunite."

"I feel exactly the same." I confirmed. "Even when I'm sure we'll be seeing each other again soon I cannot help but feel like it might not be so."

"Makes me wonder how I could survive as long as I did without you." He whispered, cradling my face tenderly in his hands. "So many years, so many lifetimes, all alone..."

"I'm glad I did not have to go through that." I admitted, turning my head just enough to kiss each of his palms in turn. "And you did not know I existed..."

"You know, at times it feels like I did." He revealed to me in a whisper. "Like a part of me always knew you existed, I just didn't know how to find you, or where. It's like I've been waiting for you for so long... maybe as long as a thousand years. Like I've loved you for so long, like my soul was always meant to be tied to you... I just did not know it consciously..."

I did not answer him, I couldn't, his declaration had left me absolutely breathless, especially because I knew exactly what he spoke of, even though I'd lived nowhere near a thousand years, I could feel every single detail resonate inside me and knew the same was true for me.

**xXx**

We arrived a bit late to the celebration that evening, not that it mattered much. While at least some people probably noticed, most probably expected it, it was no secret that we were pretty passionate about each other. Something Odin and most of the Elders (set in the old ways as they were) did not approve of; since I care little for their approval, their opinion mattered little to me. Only Sif had once had the guts to ask why I did it, why I was so openly affectionate with my love even though I knew other's didn't like it:

" _I do not live for the approval of others, Sif, my friend." I'd told her quite calmly. "Especially that of people who, from the very beginning, have sought any and every possible way to belittle me. Also..." I hesitated, words failing me. "I don't know how to explain it right but... sometimes I feel like I would regret it dearly if I were to hold back. I feel deep inside me a regret, of holding back once, and then not getting another chance..." My voice broke for a moment as I shook my head to clear it from the hazy memories. "Maybe it's because of the chances I lost with my father. Him always working, me always studying, later on he had his new wife and I my work with SHIELD, and then we both died; it's like we kept getting chances and ignoring them, until it was too late to turn back anymore..."_

That was what I told her, and she believed me... even though I didn't fully believe it myself. I'd been completely honest with her about all but one detail. It wasn't the memory of my father that caused me to feel such phantom regret, it was another, though I couldn't truly understand it. After all, how could I regret losing the love of my existence when he was right there with me?

The celebration went on late into the night, as expected. Around the time when young couples stopped trying to dance, a call began for a song from me. I'd been expecting that too, had a song in mind too. A new one. It was important to me, close to my heart, and though I hadn't had the chance to properly write it down, arrange a melody for it, I knew I could sing it... and I just felt right then was the best moment to share it:

"Would you dance  
If I asked you to dance?  
Would you run  
And never look back?  
Would you cry  
If you saw me crying?  
And would you save my soul, tonight?"

By the end of the first verse the musicians (at least those still awake and sober enough to keep playing), found the right rhythm to slip into the melody I was creating. It didn't sound exactly like I'd first heard it in my head, but still, it was nice.

"Would you tremble  
If I touched your lips?  
Would you laugh?  
Oh please tell me this.  
Now would you die  
For the one you loved?  
Hold me in your arms, tonight."

"I can be your hero, baby.  
I can kiss away the pain.  
I will stand by you forever.  
You can take my breath away."

By the time the last word of the second verse left my lips I could feel a pair of arms around my waist, perfectly fitting, I just loved singing while in my match's arms. The strangest/most enchanting part was when I could almost hear my beloved whisper every word of the chorus into my ear, even as I sung (which wasn't truly possible, as that was one song I'd never sung before... it seemed my imagination was really that good).

It was around that time that Thor chose to take his leave, though no one in the square except Loki and I noticed. We didn't have to wonder where he was going either... the same place he went every night he got the luxury of being in Asgard: the Observatory, Heimdall. He missed Jane dearly, as much as I was sure she missed him. I just hoped that with the Marauders defeated and the Nine Realms at peace once more they would get the chance to be together again. Not being able to be with your love was such a terrible, terrible torture...

"Would you swear  
That you'll always be mine?  
Or would you lie?  
Would you run and hide?  
Am I in too deep?  
Have I lost my mind?  
I don't care...  
You're here tonight."

"I can be your hero, baby.  
I can kiss away the pain.  
I will stand by you forever.  
You can take my breath away."

I let out a breath at the same time my love spun me around so I was facing him, we swayed in each other's arms for a little while, letting the music carry on; the tune the musicians had built was polished throughout the last verses and sounded quite beautiful in that moment. It no longer seemed like an improvisation, but a truly wonderful performance. Eventually, though, I turned my back once more to my beloved, though without stepping away from his arms, and went back to the song, it was already reaching its end, but I wasn't about to leave it incomplete:

"Oh, I just want to hold you.  
I just want to hold you, oh, yeah.  
Am I in too deep?  
Have I lost my mind?  
Well, I don't care...  
You're here tonight."

"I can be your hero, baby.  
I can kiss away the pain, oh, yeah.  
I will stand by you forever.  
You can take my breath away."

"I can be your hero.  
I can kiss away the pain.  
And I will stand by you forever.  
You can take my breath away.  
You can take my breath away.  
I can be your hero..."

In that moment my match truly echoed those last few words into my hear, his low, husky voice sending a shiver through my body and forcing an involuntary sigh out of my lips. In that moment I could picture it perfectly, almost as if it were an actual memory: the love of my existence singing that song just for me... I wondered if I might be able to convince him of doing exactly that some day... I'd never heard him sing, but there was a part of me that was sure he had a beautiful singing voice, he had to...

**xXx**

On the morning, Loki and I woke up to news that Jane Foster was in Asgard. Which apparently had caused quite the reaction in the palace, as never before had a mortal been allowed to set eyes on the Realm Eternal (I did not count, as by the time I arrived to Asgard I was already immortal). Sigyn revealed to us during our private breakfast (we woke a tad late to have it with everyone else) that Thor had, as we expected, gone to see Heimdall in the late hours of the night (a number of people in the palace knew about it too), he'd spoken to the Gatekeeper, and something had apparently made them both very anxious, as they stood on the edge of the Bifrost for hours, no one knew the reason why. Until the prince disappeared into the Bifrost, only to return a short while later, with Jane in tow. It was early morning by then. The part that confused me most, though, was how Thor had immediately taken Jane to the healers, he seemed to be under the belief that something was terribly wrong with her.

Since there was really nothing that could be done, I decided to go back to my own work in the library, while Loki chose instead to spend some time with our son, while the boy was barely four years and a half he'd been insisting on learning things, and my love had decided to begin teaching him meditation and possibly some basic exercises. Also, they deserved to have some time just for themselves, as father and son.

At lunch I joined the two most important men in my life for a little picnic in our private gardens, before going back to the library, Loki accompanied me then, as our son had to see his tutor for the next few hours as he was taught along with other children who lived in the palace.

The surprise came when the doors connecting the library to the Hall of Science (an entrance that was rarely used) opened abruptly to allow Odin Allfather, Thor and Jane to pass, all three looking particularly upset by something.

"There are relics that predate the universe itself." The King was saying as he walked to the main desk in the middle of the library, where the oldest, most important book were placed on display. "What lies within her appears to be one of them. The Nine Realms are not eternal. They had a dawn, as they will have a dusk. But before that dawn the dark forces, the Dark Elves, reigned absolute and unchallenged."

Loki and I kept our silence, just listening, trying to understand what was going on.

"'Before the eternal night, the Dark Elves come to steal away your light.'" Thor quoted from the book before turning to his father. "These were the stories mother told to us as children."

"Their leader, Malekith, made a weapon out of that darkness, it was called the Aether." Odin explained stoically. "While the other relics often appear as stones, the Aether is fluid, and ever changing. It changes matter into dark matter, and seeks out host bodies, drawing strength from their life force. Malekith sought to use the Aether's power to return the universe to one of darkness. But, after eternities of bloodshed, my father Bor finally triumphed; ushering in a peace that lasted thousands of years."

"What happened?" Jane asked, curious.

"He killed them all." The Allfather replied simply.

"Are you certain?" Thor pressed, not quite believing it. "The Aether was said to have been destroyed with them, and yet here it is."

My love had to cover my mouth with his hand to drown my gasp as my mind raced through implications before reaching the obvious conclusion: the Aether had been found, and it was somehow affecting Jane, that's why Thor had taken her to Eir and her team of healers and they'd spent the whole morning there...

"The Dark Elves are dead." Odin insisted, obviously not liking his son disbelief.

"Does your book happen to mention how to get it out of me?" Jane asked, somewhat hopefully.

"No, it does not." He answered calmly, as if he couldn't care less.

We held our silence as the three took their leave, before returning to our seats, though neither of us went back to what we'd been doing before, instead focused on processing everything we'd just heard and the different level of implications.

"So the Aether has been discovered, it's affecting Jane, but there's no need to worry, because those who would want it are all dead..." I couldn't help the light snort that came from me. "Yeah, right. It cannot be that simple."

"Why not?" My Maverick asked, even though I knew he thought the same, he still wanted to understand my reasoning.

"One: it never is, simple, I mean." I answered honestly. "On the other hand, King Bor, and his historians already lied regarding the destruction of the Aether... who says they did not lie about the death of all dark-elves as well? And..." I couldn't help but hesitate for a moment before adding. "I've been reading some things. It started with the Tesseract, I wanted to understand its power better..."

"What did you find?" He sounded intrigued by that point.

"That's it, I hardly found anything about the Tesseract itself." I tried my best to explain. "There was one interesting detail, though, in an old journal. It said that the relic known as the Tesseract, or the Cube, was most likely a device created to harness another object of unmeasurable power, something called the Space-Gem, which is believed to be one of the Infinity Stones..."

"The Infinity Stones...?" Loki repeated, shocked. "But those are supposed to be a myth!"

"So was Thanos supposed to be, remember?" I couldn't help the grim tone on my voice. "Besides, Odin mentioned other relics, most of which appear like stones... What if he was referring to the Infinity Stones? What if this Aether is one of them?"

"If you're right on one thing you're most likely right on them all." My match admitted soberly. "Which means Jane is playing unwilling host to one of the greatest and most uncontrollable forces in the universe... one others will be coming after soon... the kind of enemies no one will know to expect because everyone believes them to have been vanquished ages ago!"

When he put it like that it sounded even worse than when I first thought of it.

"I may be wrong..." I admitted, hesitantly.

"You may..." He began, then shook his head. "But you don't really believe you are, and neither do I, to be honest. We need to put everyone under high-alert. Preparations need to be made before we're attacked by these dark elves..."

**xXx**

It was our intention to warn the Queen and afterwards seek out Sif and the Warriors Three and ask their help so we may warn everybody in Asgard in time... we never made it that far. While we did speak with Lady Frigg (and she promised to share our theories with Thor and make sure he understood the gravity of the situation), before we could go in search of our friends (and they'd finally, truly, become our friends), the Allfather intercepted us.

"What is this that I hear you've been spreading ridiculous tales about upcoming invasions and the return of long-defeated enemies?" The King demanded, angrily.

"We're doing no such thing." Loki stated, deadly calm. "We explained to Mother a theory we came up with after hearing of what ails Jane Foster, and fitting it with a number of things Nightingale has discovered in her readings. After comparing the information we decided it was wise to be prepared, just in case. As unlikely as an attack might seem to you, Father, it would be better to be prepared and have no danger coming our way, than for the enemy to find us unprepared and vulnerable."

"All you will manage is to cause unnecessary panic..." The Allfather began sharply, before fixing his stare straight on Nightingale. "Is that your intent, young lady? To push Asgard into chaos with old tales and lies?"

"You will not call my match a liar, Allfather!" Loki hissed, thoroughly offended.

"What in the name of the spirits are you talking about?" I blurted out, absolutely shocked. "Why ever would I want to cause trouble for Asgard and anyone who inhabits it? This is my home now too, you know?"

"You're not one of us..." Odin began.

"That's all there is to it, isn't it?" I interrupted, beginning to get upset. "You don't like me, never have, probably never will. Is it because I was born human? Is it because you don't think I'm worthy of your son? Of his name, and by connection, yours? What else do you expect me to do in order to prove myself to you? Because I already gave up my family, friends and my home... twice! I even died! What else is there for me to give?"

Odin Allfather didn't answer me, and the next words to came out of his mouth were such that I couldn't help but wonder if I'd slipped into the Twilight Zone and not noticed, or what in the abyss was going on!

"You are a threat to my son, to Asgard, and to all the Realms." The Allfather stated.

"She is my match!" Loki practically roared in fury.

"Where did you get the song from?!" The older man demanded next.

"Wha...?" I was speechless by my confusion. "Song?"

"The one you sang last night." The King insisted. "Who gave you that song?"

"What does that song have to do with anything?" I really did not understand the old man.

"Answer me!" He almost snarled.

"No one gave it to me!" I snapped, my distress and defensiveness growing at his attitude. "All the songs I sing, they're mine, they come from inside me, I create them."

"That's impossible..." Odin murmured, abruptly very quiet.

"It's not." I insisted, fighting to keep calm, even if I still didn't understand anything. "I've been doing it since it was young. I write music as well as play and sing it."

"Not that song." The Allfather insisted. "That song is not yours! So tell me where you got it from! Tell me now!"

"It is mine." I insisted pointedly. "It came to me in my dreams, which isn't exactly rare. The first few times I could hardly remember anything upon waking, but after a while I was able to recall more, until I finally memorized it all. Last night was the first time I dared sing it. What in the abyss is it about the song that bothers you so much?"

"That wasn't the first time I heard that song." Odin said, voice completely emotionless. "I heard it once before... a long time ago."

That honestly left me speechless, whatever I might have been expecting, that wasn't it.

"Maybe she heard the song somewhere and then began dreaming about it." My Maverick said in a dismissive manner. "What's the problem with that? Last night's song wasn't even the point of our conversation." His eyes narrowed. "I do not like you implying that my wife is in any way a threat to this family, to this realm, or any realm, Allfather..."

"Well, she shouldn't go around spreading lies..." The King hissed.

"They're not lies." Loki was beginning to sound tired by that point. "And we're not saying they're absolute truth either. At this point it's only a theory..."

"Of which you have no proof!" The old man insisted.

"Still, we better be safe than sorry." My love refused to back down. "Or would you rather wait until we are attacked and Asgard is in shambles before admitting that we were right?"

"There is no attack coming, because all the Dark-elves are dead!" The Allfather snapped.

"And what if they aren't?" My match challenged "What do you think will happen to Asgard? And afterwards, the rest of the Realms, because I do not believe someone like Malekith wouldn't try something if he managed to get his hands on this Aether, especially with the Convergence coming! What do you think will happen to Jane then?!"

"You care too much about what happens to a mere mortal..." Odin began.

"And you care too little." My Maverick retorted. "She is your firstborn's intended, father..."

"She's no such thing!" The King pretty much roared his denial. "And she shall never be! No mortal shall ever..."

"Is that really all that matters to you?" I interrupted, testily. "That's she's mortal? You should focus on what your son wants rather than what you want."

"Given time, Thor will come to his senses, he will see reason..." Odin insisted.

"Love isn't a matter of reason Allfather!" I cried out, all passion and emotion in my ever word. "Matters of the heart are not for the head to understand. And a match of souls... the stars know those are rare enough, and such a blessing, one that cannot be questioned, denied, or ignored. The Higher Powers have seen fit to grant your son and Jane this most amazing gift... and all you focus on is that it goes against what you believe in... Can you not see how fortunate Thor is, to have found his match, Allfather?"

The Allfather did not reply, indeed it seemed like something in my words had finally made him stop, though exactly what or why, I knew not. It's not like he'd ever cared much for what I had to say... why then was that moment different? I did not get the chance to ask (and I'm unsure if I'd have had the courage to question him on the matter) because right then the echo of an explosion almost deafened us, at the same time the palace shook violently.

Loki and I turned to look at each other in silence, both coming to the same conclusion in no time at all, it was fairly obvious, really...

"They're here..." We whispered in unison.

Odin reacted swiftly, seemingly forgetting our argument completely (or at least pushing it to the back of his mind) before walking in the direction of the throne room, at the same time he began calling orders left and right to servants and soldiers. My husband and I looked at each other once more before we went after him.

Once in the throne room, soldiers began gathering and the Allfather's orders became more precise. Loki took a moment to use his magic to canvas the palace and its surroundings to get a better idea of the situation, while I used magic to project myself to my son. I found him and the rest of the children he studied with, as well as their tutors, with Sigyn and the other handmaidens, hidden in the safe-room in our chambers. That, at least, put me at ease.

"Send a squadron to the weapons vault, defend it at all costs." I heard the King said right then. "Seal the dungeon."

A part of me couldn't help but think that his priorities were all wrong, he should be focusing on the people rather than on relics... but still.

A look between my love and I was enough, I knew that the situation was bad outside, and he knew our son was safe.

"You should go look for Thor." I told him quietly. "He'll need you."

He nodded, having already come to the same conclusion.

"My love..." He whispered, holding my hand briefly.

"I promise to stay inside the palace..." I began.

"I know I cannot make you promise to stay safe." He told me honestly. "Just like I cannot promise you the same in return just... don't get killed."

I nodded, I would do my best.

He was leaving the throne room pretty much at the same time Lady Frigg and Jane went in. The three exchanged quick glances but neither of them stopped.

"Odin." The Queen called to her husband.

"Frigg." He acknowledged her presence briefly before turning back to the commander he'd been giving orders to. "Go!" Then he turned back to his wife. "It's a skirmish. Nothing to fear."

"You've never been a very good liar." She pointed out calmly.

We all knew what was going on was no mere skirmish. Still, I wasn't so petty as to say 'I told you so...', there were other things we needed to focus on.

I raised my head just in time to notice Odin staring at me, except he didn't look angry or annoyed anymore; instead, a different kind of shadow had fallen on his eyes, it looked almost like... worry? For me? Then he turned to look at Jane, his expression unchanged, I had no idea what could possibly be going through his head in that moment.

"Take them to your chambers." He told his queen. "I'll come for you when it's safe."

More soldiers marched by right then, including Sif. I was only half aware of the way she seemed to be actually glaring at Jane... however, I did not have time to focus on that, so instead I just cleared my throat discreetly and extended my hand to her. No words needed to be said, she pulled a dagger, sheath and all, from her belt, before handing it to me, then moved on. It wasn't one of mine, actually a bit longer and more curved than what I was used to, but it was still better than the possibility of facing an enemy weaponless.

I did not pay any attention to the Queen's and King's exchange, but the moment she began walking away I immediately followed, as did Jane. Neither of us said a word as she grabbed a short sword from one of the passing warriors, I understood how she felt... Jane probably did as well, she just had no training for battle (not that I had that much training, but at least it was enough that I did not feel completely vulnerable).

"Listen to me now. I want the two of you to do everything I ask, no questions." Lady Frigg instructed as the three of us stepped into the Royal wing.

"Yes ma'am." Jane answered automatically.

I kept my silence, my instinct telling me already it was a bad idea. I just hoped it wasn't as bad as the hole in the pit of my stomach seemed to imply.

It wasn't that bad... it was worse.

The moment we got to her chambers, Lady Frigg instructed Jane to hide in the safe-room, before shielding the door so no one with evil-intent could find it. After that she donned her armor over the gown she was wearing and then began working on the illusion of another Jane. It was at that point that I knew exactly what was planning; an instinct also told me that, as good as the Queen's magic was (and if anyone surpassed my love in magic, it was she), it just might not be enough. And she probably knew it too, there was a reason she'd shielded the door to the safe-room as she had, she planned on drawing Malekith's attention, not only to the illusion of Jane, but also onto herself if necessary.

So while my mother-in-law was working on that, I slipped into the safe-room with Jane and began working on my own last-minute plan.

"Give me your clothes." I told her, even as I began to strip.

That day I was wearing a calf-length gray silk dress with short slashed-open sleeves and a round neckline, as well as silver slippers (to compliment my jewelry). My hair had been half-up, with my fore-bangs pulled back to leave my face free. I undid that too, leaving my hair down, it was a bit longer than Jane's, but it'd do... or so I hoped.

I knew Loki would have a heart attack when he found out what exactly I was doing, but there was little time and I didn't exactly have a lot of options.

Jane had no idea what I was planning, but she did as I instructed her. The golden dress, when on me, almost reached the ground (I was a couple of inches shorter than she), but aside from that it fit fine. The shoes were another matter entirely as I had no intention of wearing heels (had never liked them, and wouldn't be able to fight in them).

Once the exchange was done I slipped back out of the safe-room, concealing myself behind a column as I watched the exchange taking place. While I always knew that Lady Frigg was a Warrior Queen, I had to be honest with myself and admit I never actually imagined her fighting. She was amazing. She had disarmed Malekith in a way that almost made it look easily, slashed at him several times before eventually pinning him down, blade to his neck... the problem came when that other creature, the monster, interrupted. He disarmed the Queen, taking hold of her by the neck and raising her until her feet no longer touched the ground; then he pressed his own sword against her back in warning.

Malekith for his part (or that's who I thought the other Dark-elf was) turned and walked to where illusion-Jane stood.

"You have something child." He told her darkly. "Give it back."

He reached for her then, only for the illusion to dissolve at his touch.

"Witch!" He roared at Frigg. "Where is the Aether?!"

"I'll never tell." The Queen stated regally.

One did not need to be a genius or a pre-cog to know what was coming, so after taking a moment to place a very light illusion on myself, just enough that he may not notice I was not Jane, I let out what I hoped sounded like an involuntary squeak, before dashing out of my hiding place and behind another column.

"No!" Lady Frigg cried out in distress.

She probably realized what I was doing, the danger I was putting myself in... I did not care, because a second later Malekith's attention was on me, which meant he wasn't ordering her dead. Of course, what I did not consider was how the extra-long dress would affect my ability to fight. Still, I gave it my all. And it the end it was enough that I managed to cut the dark-elf on the face, a deep gash that went from his temple to his chin, leaving his cheek a bloody mess and almost cutting out the eye too.

The monster then seemed to decide I was more of a threat than Lady Frigg, as he threw her down unceremoniously before going after me as well. There was no way I was going to win that fight. In a matter of seconds I'd lost my only weapon; also, before I got the chance to use any magic I had the awful creature holding me back in such a way I could draw no runes, and as true fear began taking over my mind I lost any ability to call on my beloved's magic. In the back of my mind, though, I could feel his panic as he realized something was terribly wrong.

Malekith reached for me then, grasping my face almost violently. For a second or two nothing happened and then...

"Witch!" He snarled viciously. "You're not the one who holds the Aether!"

While the dress might have had enough of a trace of the power to trick him for a little while, the moment he'd touched my skin, the truth became obvious.

"No, I'm not." I told him calmly.

"And I suppose you won't be telling me where it is either..." He hissed through his teeth.

"Never." I answered proudly.

"I believe you." He nodded.

I knew what was coming before he moved a single muscle, however, knowing something inside your head doesn't prepare you to the reality of it, to the pain...

It was as if the hottest fire invaded my stomach, pain taking me over from the inside out; and even as I looked down I couldn't fully comprehend what my eyes were seeing, the very blade I'd been deprived off, burying deep in my body.

"NIGHTINGALE!"

I wasn't sure if I was hearing that scream with my ears or inside my head... it did not seem to make much of a difference.

The pain grew exponentially when Malekith took hold of the dagger again before yanking it out almost as viciously as he'd put it in (I did not think such a thing was possible). I was vaguely aware as he turned away from me, moving in the direction of Lady Frigg, who was looking at me with horror even as she tried and failed to get on her feet (it seemed she'd hurt her leg when the monster threw her).

"No..." I gasped, horrified.

I'd done what I did in order to protect her... if she got killed anyway... I couldn't even process the thought (though that might have been the pain muddling my brain).

The sound of thunder broke through the haze in my mind, followed by a rush of cold air that made a corner of my brain (the only part that hadn't yet succumbed to the awful pain in my body) realize ice magic had just been used.

I mostly lost consciousness around then, experiencing brief moments of lucidity, though mostly I was aware of little other than the pain that wracked my body. I knew in the corner of my mind that I was bleeding heavily, I was also growing increasingly colder, neither of which bode well; though there was nothing I could do about either. Even with a hand pressed to my middle, it simply was not enough to stop the blood-flow.

I didn't know when exactly I dropped to the floor, or when Jane left the safe-room. Though I'd just enough awareness left to notice the moment my match knelt beside me, using his cape to try and stop the bleeding even as he called to me almost hysterically.

"Me...a...mi..." I mumbled, not even conscious of what exactly I was saying.

The last I saw were his wide green eyes looking at me full of fear, then I stopped feeling pain a second before blacking out.


	3. Third Element: Water

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Second part of the TDW rewrite and the one where the convergence actually takes place.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is where the crossover happens. The Secret Circle is, as always (they've appeared in a number of AUs) is the same from the L.J Smith books of the same name; I've just taken some liberties with a few things. If you want to know more about them you can read the first trilogy of books, it's the one that concerns things here (the one that Smith actually wrote), I know there is another trilogy but Smith didn't write it, someone else did, and I haven't read it just yet (if I like it I might add some of that in the future). Still, you don't need to truly read it, the important stuff is explained in the chapter. Also, if you've watched the tv-show but not read the books... it's nothing like the show. 
> 
> Also, the 'battle-attire' of-sorts that Nightingale wears on this chapter (and again later on) is the one you can see in the cover and wallpapers, just in case you're interested.

**Third Element: Water**

Like the Water we flow, with it we learn to adapt, and it allows us to feel...

_It took me a number of seconds to be able to focus. Half-disjointed images spinning in a corner of my mind, things that I might have been dreaming about: Loki singing (which was odd, as he'd once told me he did not sing, even if he had not told me why, and I still hoped to change his mind someday), people in medieval-like clothes dancing, a forest where every blossom and every tree shone like precious stones, a baby crying and... there was a lot more I couldn't remember, maybe even something that would give those flashes sense, for I hadn't the slightest idea what any of it was supposed to mean!_

_Eventually I managed to stop thinking about those things, it was also then that I realized I wasn't awake per see, and I was inside my match's mind. I'd done that before, we both had, both talked telepathically and used our bond to 'meet', in a way, when apart. Still, it wasn't something I'd ever done without intention, or while unconscious. I began truly paying attention to what was going with my match around the same time we became aware of my presence._

_*How are you?* He asked inside our bond._

_*Alright... I think.* Knowing better than to try and lie to him. *Haven't actually woken up just yet to find out.*_

_*Lady Eir likes you, she will make sure you're as good as new by the time you wake up.* He decided. *I'm just sorry I cannot be there when you wake up.*_

_*That's alright, I understand why you're doing this...* I assured him._

_I truly did, I'd seen his reasoning inside his mind, along with the memories of how exactly he, Thor and Jane had managed to get out of the palace and to the Hidden Path that connected to Svartalfheim (with Jane carrying the Aether it would have been a bad idea to use the Shadow Paths to do it)._

_I turned my attention to look through my beloved's eyes then. He was in the back of an Asgardian skiff, controlling it; while Thor sat at the front, beside a a napping Jane._

" _You know one day you'll have to say good bye to her, right?" Loki asked him quietly._

" _Not this day..." Thor grumbled in denial._

" _This day, the next, a hundred years, it's nothing, it's a heartbeat." Loki said, voice weighed by an immeasurable sadness. "You'll never be ready. The only woman whose love you prized will be snatched from you. And you will feel lost... you will feel like gravity no longer holds you, like the sun cannot warm you, like there's no beauty left in the world... you'll feel like you cannot draw breath, and yet still keep living..."_

_I couldn't say a word at that, though I still focused on pouring as much love as I could into my love, at the same time a part of me wondered if that was how he felt when I died two years prior? It made me wish I'd been able to reveal myself to him sooner._

_*It's alright my love.* He assured me mentally. *You're here with me now and that's all I care about. The time we might have spent apart stopped mattering the moment I had you in my arms again... still, these are things that Thor needs to be aware of, if he will persist on his relationship with Jane Foster... especially since I doubt Father will be very cooperative.*_

_*I wish there was another way... some way we could help them.* I admitted softly._

_*As do I, but some things are simply beyond our control my Nightingale.* He replied, sending the equivalent of a tender caress through our connection._

_He was right, of course, didn't mean I had to like it._

" _Why are you telling me this, brother?" Thor asked Loki, tense._

" _Anyone with eyes can see how much you love your lady." My Maverick told him quietly. "And it's obvious she reciprocates. However, you've heard Father's opinion, if you try to make Jane your betrothed, he will not approve of it. And while I fully believe her capable of gaining the respect and approval from Asgard... that will not make her one of us, it will not make her an Aesir, or immortal... without Odin's blessing she will not be able to partake of Idunn's apples..." He made a pause to clear his throat a bit. "Which means that one day, whether it is a year, a decade or a century from now... you will lose her."_

" _How did you handle it?" The blonde asked after what seemed like forever._

" _I'm sure you remember enough of the days following the loss of my Nightingale to know I did not 'handle it'." My love deadpanned. "The only reason I did not take my own life was because I was quite sure Father would do it for me!"_

" _*What?!*" I wasn't the only one crying out in response to that._

" _Brother..." The Thunderer seemed to have no words._

_Loki didn't offer any, and I kept doing my best to pour as much love into our bond as I could, even as I tried my best to hold back the terror I felt at the very thought of my soul-mate committing suicide. Even if I'd truly been lost, the idea of him no longer existing brought me such pain I felt like I couldn't breathe..._

_*A life without you isn't one worth living, my love...* He whispered into our bond._

" _What about what you two did?" Thor asked unexpectedly. "Those bracelets, your bonds..."_

" _I told you before why the deamarkonian would be a bad idea in your case." Loki reminded him. "The kind of power you posses, on a fully-healthy human like Jane... it might overwhelm her. The risks are simply too many." He shook his head. "And regarding bonds... you are already bonded to her, brother."_

" _What?" The blonde obviously hadn't known that._

" _It's true." My match nodded. "Both Nightingale and I have seen it. The thread is still thin, a bit fragile, but it's there. Though, Thor, that won't be enough. A bond like that is, indeed, proof of your love and commitment... still, it won't be enough to keep her by your side when her mortal life runs out."_

" _Why not? Explain me brother, please, for I do not understand."_

" _The kind of bond that is needed to achieve such a thing... it takes much longer than a human, any human has, Thor. It takes a hundred years..."_

" _What?! But... but you and Nightingale..."_

" _Yes..." My match let out a breath. "That is a mystery we haven't been able to solve, even now. The strength of our bond, in such a short time, it shouldn't have been possible..."_

" _Was it those bracelets?"_

" _The deamarkonian might have bolstered the bonds initially, but it's not meant to strengthen them, not like that. Besides, if you will remember, brother, Nightingale unlocked them that day, which is precisely why her mortal life ended."_

" _Yet she returned to you."_

" _That she did... and as grateful as I am for that, I know not how it was possible. I will never stop being thankful for it, however. I think... no, I know I would have never been able to survive without her... the mere thought of it is almost enough to drive me insane..."_

" _But then... what about us? What can we do?"_

" _You should talk to mother, she might have some idea, I have none." He shook his head. "I promise you Thor, that when the day comes and you bring her before Father, I will stand by you, support your choice. I know not if that will be enough."_

" _I could never ask for more, brother. I shall talk to Mother..."_

_For a little while, not a word was spoken. Though the peace was short and I knew the end had come when I felt my love begin tensing._

" _We're here..." He announced, guiding the skiff to a stop. "And so is Malekith."_

_*Take care...* I whispered softly in his head, even as I felt my consciousness beginning to pull away from his. *May the stars protect you...*_

_All I got in response was a sense of reassurance, and then I was waking up..._

**xXx**

By the time I was found I was finished dressing in the new version of my battle attire (the other one was beginning to get a little old, and the new had been made with special fabrics that allowed my love to better weave his protective spells into it). It consisted of a short-sleeved, calf-length, round-necked dress with a slit up the middle that reached to the upper-thigh; beneath that was a long sleeved tunic as well as short-shorts, both figure-hugging both for protection and to make movement easier; The over-dress was cinched by a metal-belt, which held a secondary layer of protective spells, and could also act as holder of several blades; the final details were over-the-knee boots and a pair of finger-less-gloves. It was all done in shades of violet, from the darkest plum in the dress, to the somewhat-pale mauve of the inner tunic. I had no armor on, but that did not matter, because the inner tunic had enough magic in it to work better than even the elves' best mithril coatmail.

"Where do you think you're going?" Odin demanded, striding into my private chambers (mine and Loki's) without warning.

"I'm going to help my family." I answered simply, putting down the pen.

I'd been bent over the desk, writing a note to explain where I was going and why.

"But child!" Lady Frigg called worriedly, entering behind him. "You just woke up."

"And I'm already late." I told her softly but firmly.

"You don't even know where they are!" The Allfather snapped at me abruptly. "You were left behind for a reason!"

"Don't pretend like you were part of the plan sir, because if you were, they wouldn't have been forced to go to the lengths they did." I retorted with a snort. "You were quite willing to put your people in danger out of pride, do you know how many kingdoms, empires even, have fallen because of pride? It's the most notable fault in monarchs through history... of course, if one considers it that way, it's the one mistake no one's ever learnt from." I shook my head, that was so not the point! "Loki, Thor and Jane are currently in Svartalfheim, making sure Malekith and his army won't be coming to Asgard again. They will make sure Jane is released from the Aether..."

"By handing the weapon back to Malekith?!" The King deffinitely did not like that plan.

"Thor kind of hopes that if he hits the Aether at the moments its most vulnerable, after it's left Jane but before Malekith can fully take it, he might be able to destroy it." I explained.

"It cannot be done." Odin stated blankly.

"Of course it cannot, one cannot destroy a singularity, one of the original pieces of existence... not even Titans could do that, wield them, yes, destroy them, no." I'd been able to conclude that much from all my reading. "But there's no way Thor would be able to understand that, and it's not like we lose anything allowing him to try. Loki only hopes their move will allow Jane to be saved. Afterwards our best bet is channeling the energy created by the Convergence and use it to defeat Malekith and what remains of the dark-elves."

"Use the Convergence against Malekith?" The Queen seemed surprised by that part. "How could such a thing be achieved?"

"No idea." I admitted. "Science is kind of Jane's area of expertise, not mine. But Loki believes it can be done, and I trust him."

"That still doesn't explain where you think you're going." The Allfather pointed out.

"To Midgard, to wait for them, hopefully be able to call SHIELD and get people ready to help when it all begins." I told him honestly.

"Midgard?" Lady Frigg inquired.

"Being the center of Yggdrasil the Convergence will be stronger there than anywhere else in the Nine Realms." I elaborated. "Loki knows this, and we expect Malekith knows as well, he will head there once he has the Aether."

"How do you even know all this, my lady?" Ylva blurted out.

She'd been there all along, keeping quiet until that moment. While Thor's friends and Heimdall were in the dungeons over their actions during Loki's, Thor's and Jane's escape from Asgard, Loki had made sure that Ylva's own involvement could never be proved (he always did try to take care of her, after all, she was as good as his daughter-in-law), so while Odin kept her close, she hadn't been formally charged with anything.

"I spoke with Loki before waking up." I answered simply. "It's something our bond allows us to do. He explained to me what happened after Malekith fled, where they were, why, and what I could expect next. It was then that I decided to go ahead to Midgard and get things ready for their arrival... and I risk being late if I don't hurry up..."

"Who says you're going anywhere?" The King demanded. "You're going to get killed, girl!"

"His Majesty is right about the danger, princess." Ylva admitted quietly. "You nearly died just yesterday... I really don't think prince Loki would want you risking yourself like this."

"My match knows me, he knows I would never stand back while people, while he, needs help." I stated in my most serious voice. "He will be expecting me to go to Earth and help, and I shall not disappoint him."

"Oh child..." The Queen at least did not try to stop me, she knew me too well for that.

"I actually expected, when you brought that boy with you back from Jotunheim, that you would have grown more sensible." Odin stated in his best 'disappointed father' tone. "Do you really believe my son wants you to be in danger? Do you want to risk your son being motherless?"

"Of course not!" I took offense to that last comment. "But neither do I want him to be fatherless. And in case people around here are forgetting this, again, if my match dies, so do I! So staying back for safety is a moot point!"

"It would keep you from making yourself a target." The Allfather insisted.

"And it might keep me from being able to do something that could save him!" I retorted.

I knew, deep down, that his statements were valid, but so were mine!

"You are not thinking clearly, I will not allow yo to leave Asgard, to risk your life so needlessly." The King stated, completely inflexible.

"Most of the time you cannot stand me, you hate that a mortal girl married your son, and now suddenly you're afraid of something happening to me?" I really, really did not understand that man, god, whatever!

"You do not understand..." Odin began, and for a moment I could almost believe I heard sorrow, maybe even regret in his voice.

"You won't let me." I pointed out.

And really, I hadn't the slightest idea what he meant. His mood-changes were so sudden they would end up giving me whiplash!

"Regardless..." I stated softly but as serious as ever, after several seconds of silence. "My King you may be, Allfather, but Loki is my match and nothing, no one, not mortal, god or titan, will ever keep me from him..."

I didn't give him the chance to insist, threaten, or anything else, simply giving a step to the side and sinking into the closest shadow in a second.

**xXx**

The one thing I did not count on, was Ylva being able to see through me, to predict my actions, a fraction of a second before I moved. Just enough time for her to dash to my side and hold onto my arm tightly right before the shadows swallowed me. She ended up tagging along. And since she'd never traveled the Shadow Paths, and I hadn't been prepared to do so while taking someone with me, when we emerged (thankfully in the right place), we both dropped to our knees, feeling particularly nauseous and dizzy for several seconds.

"What in the abyss did you think you were doing?!" I demanded as soon as I got my breath back.

"If I'd let you go, and you'd gotten killed, prince Thor would have killed me himself for letting his siblings die and not being there to help somehow." She answered honestly. "And besides, you are as good as family, you and the prince both. So here I am. What's the plan?"

"Ylva...? I really didn't know what else to say.

"I'm not stupid, I haven't forgotten that between you and prince Loki, if one of you dies, so does the other." Ylva said stoically. "So neither of you would get to mourn the other if something were to happen. But what of prince Thor? Do you think he wouldn't grieve? Or the Queen? Fenrir? Lady Hel...? And what about your son? The little prince... you and His Highness are that boy's whole world. How do you think he would feel if he were to lose you two?" She seemed to guess what I was thinking by what she said next. "I know I'm kind of new to all of this, though Sif has told me enough about the messes you and the prince seem to get into all the time... and while there's a lot I still cannot understand: a lot some people say Prince Loki has done that should mark him as evil, when I know he's not, not really. In the end I respect his intentions, his goals, and yours, I truly believe that if all they say happened, did, there must have been a reason. And until I am given reason, and a very good one, to believe otherwise, I will follow the oath of loyalty I swore when I became your handmaiden, and your protector, princess..."

"Thank you." I nodded, considering things a bit before adding. "And call me Nightingale, Ylva, call us all by our names. It may be true that you're my handmaiden and bodyguard, but you're also my friend. Maybe when this mess is over we'll get the chance to sit down and explain you our story... allow you to truly know and understand."

"I believe I would like that very much pr... Nightingale." Ylva smiled at me.

It was true, she might technically work for me, but she was more than that, and not only because of her bond to Fenrir, and his own indirect one with Loki and I... but for herself. She'd done so much for me since I'd known her, how could I consider her anything less than a friend?

It probably shouldn't have been surprising that things did not go according to plan, at all... but a part of me had still hoped. It was nerve-wracking: first I tried Darcy's number, it sounded busy; then Phil's, his was disconnected; Maria Hill's assistant didn't seem to have the slightest idea of who Professor Salani-Hvedrungr was supposed to be, and since I apparently wasn't on the 'priority list' my call wasn't important enough to interrupt the Deputy Director of SHIELD from whatever it was she was doing; Fury never answered his phone. I was beginning to consider trying getting in touch with one of the Avengers, since I was really running out of options, when we ran out of time.

The real surprise, in the end, was in those who did answer the call for help. A magical coven from America: the Secret Circle. Loki and I'd met them briefly during the months leading to the battle where my mortal life ended (while we were searching for a possible cure for my lack of voice). We'd seen them again a number of times after our return, in my 22nd birthday (Loki liked them better than most of the Avengers).

It was interesting, really. The Secret Circle was a coven formed by twelve magic-wielding young humans, five boys and seven girls, all in their early twenties. Their greatest achievement/test had come in the form of a confrontation against their ancestor's most fearsome enemy, a man they called 'Black John' who had attempted to take over the Circle, and used the safety of their small island-like town of New Salem to try and force them into compliance. Except the Circle, all of them between the ages of 16 and 18 at the time, had refused to surrender, and instead unlocked the highest level of power witches from their bloodlines had ever possessed (which, by that point, had become nothing more than legend), the ability to call onto the very forces of the universe (the sun, the moon, the stars, the earth, the rain, etc.).

While the coven wasn't too numerous, they were still lead by a triumvirate, three girls: The two younger ones (by a few months), were polar opposites, as well as a perfect match: both tall, with long straight hair and perfectly unblemished, sun-kissed skin; the first of slender build long hair a perfect blend of moonlight and sunlight, and eyes like the brightest emeralds; her counterpart had a voluptuous figure, hair black like a raven's wing and eyes the color of liquid gold. One dressed in white, the other in black, perfectly identical slips with no sleeves and a slit up to their thighs on one side; also, each of them wore matching garters and arm-bands on opposite sides made of soft green silk and silver. They were Diana Meade and Faye Chamberlaine, better known by some as the Priestess and the Huntress respectively. The final member of the triad was quite different from them: with a petite but elegant figure, fair skin, wavy topaz-brown hair with highlights in various shades of auburn and big cornflower-blue eyes; when in 'duty' she wore a Greek-style tunic that began in an off-white color before turning blue, the garment was floor-length, showing nothing of her legs, but with a deep-v neckline; golden hem and a sash going around her back and arms in the same colors complimented her, as well as the choker around her neck and the shiny diadem sitting on her brow, both silver with crystals. Her name for most people was Cassandra (Cassie) Blake-Conant (married to Adam Conant, another member of the Circle), though some also knew her as the Muse.

The most interesting part, though, was the members of the Circle were some of the few humans to know, and accept the existence of soul-mates, the most basic (beginning) form of a match. They called it the silver-cord, and some of them could even see it. In fact, Cassie and Adam were bound together by it.

The greatest surprise was because I didn't actually call the Circle for help, yet they all arrived nonetheless. It was Diana that explained it to me, the line from which Cassie was descended, on her mother's side, had the most power and the clearest sight (or so it'd been explained to them); adding to that the power her father had held... Cassie knew the Circle would be needed in London the moment Jane found the Aether, as if that had been the final piece of a puzzle long set out. The group had begun making plans, right away, taking a plane and arriving just in time.

"And what is it you can do that you believe might be of help in the upcoming battle against Malekith and his dark-elves?" Ylva asked, distrustful.

No one liked her tone, not even I, though I also had to admit that if I didn't know the Circle beforehand I probably would have felt the same way she did. After all, what could anyone expect from a bunch of barely-out-of-their-teens humans, even ones that could wield magic?

"Why you...?" Faye was trully annoyed by the comment, and it showed.

"Easy..." Diana calmed her quietly but swiftly. "She does not know us." The blonde then turned to the Aesir-lady. "We know better than to believe we can actually fight against such creatures and live. No, we're here to prevent as much collateral damage as possible. By calling on our highest power, and a special spell we created after our battle against Black John we shall create a barrier that will limit Loki's and Thor's confrontation with Malekith and his people to a very specific area. This is to be done in an attempt to protect as many lives as possible, and to try and make sure the battle doesn't get out of hand."

Everyone agreed with that.

"We shall be going ahead then." Cassie announced.

Everyone began filing out, the Muse just turning back at the last moment:

"The Convergence has already begun, the peak is yet to come, but the power is already in the air." She stated. "Loki won't be able to track you down all the way here. But you can meet him easily if you go to Jane Foster's apartment in London. A friend of yours, I believe her name is Darcy, is there too, looking for help. You might be able to assist each other until the others arrive." She smiled. "We shall meet again when the battle is to begin."

"Until the battle begins." I agreed.

Cassie was gone then, following the rest of her coven into the rental cars the group had driven there from the international airport. I did not have a vehicle, which complicated matters some. It was true that the Convergence had technically already started (though it would be a while before it reached its peak); with that kind of energy locking onto the realms, crossing through the abyss, it was a bad idea to try and access the Shadow Plane. Loki and the others would most likely use the Hidden Roads as well, for that very reason (which also explained why Loki couldn't get to Wales). Mind made up, I asked Ylva to cover her Asgardian attire with one of Aunt Kathryn's old coats and then the we went to take the next train to London.

We made it to the apartment almost at the same time Thor, Loki and Jane did. Ylva was quite worried for me by then, as I'd been constantly rubbing at a spot just bellow my collarbone, it felt funny, like pins and needles. Then we reached the apartment, met with the others and learnt that my match had been nearly skewered by the Kursed (the same monster that had been so close to killing the Queen and myself) with the very same blade Loki had used to stab him from behind while the creature was focused on pummeling Thor to death; he'd barely managed to move out of the way in time, though still, he had a nick to his collarbone to prove it (and that was what I'd been feeling before).

Cassie, of course had been right that Darcy was there. Apparently when SHIELD had learnt that Dr. Selvig was investigating strange gravitation anomalies, and had called Jane as well, they'd decided it might be of interest to SHIELD, and sent her after Jane, with the excuse of helping the astrophysicist's new intern learn the ropes (too many had thrown the towel, being unable to deal with the young Dr.'s strange quirks). Darcy had seen the whole thing as a working-vacation, until things got real, and SHIELD did not answer her calls!

It took a few minutes, but soon they had all of Erik's research around them, as the group tried to come up with a plan to deal with what was coming.

"Malekith is going to fire the Aether at a spot where all the nine world are connecting." Loki announced, being the one who knew the most about how such things worked.

"He's right." Jane agreed. "I saw it even as the Aether left me."

"You're lucky such a thing didn't drive you insane." Loki murmured, mostly to her; by the tone of his words I could tell it wasn't the first time he expressed that opinion.

"Amplifying the weapon's impact." Erik deduced. "For each additional world, the power will increase exponentially. The effect would be universal."

"The universe will return to the darkness... to the abyss..." I murmured, horrified. "That's exactly what Malekith wants."

"Yes, but the alignment is only temporary." Thor reminded us. "He must be in exactly the right place at the right time."

That should have given me, given us hope, that Malekith might not be able to find the place on time... however, considering he could sense the Aether, I hazarded a guess that he would be able to do the same with the Convergence. Besides, the effects were already there for anyone to see (or at least those who had any idea what the strange phenomenons taking place throughout the United Kingdom meant at all). So, if Malekith could find the place, that meant we needed to do the same, and we could not hope magic would guide us this time, as we needed to get there before he did.

"Well, how do we know where that is?" Darcy inquired.

"We follow the directions." Erik announced, extending a world map over the table. "This has happened before, thousands of years ago, and the Ancients were there to see it." He began marking points on the map. "All the great constructions, the Mayans, the Chinese, Egyptians... They made use of the gravitational effects of the Convergence. And they left us a map..." Once finished marking points, he began drawing lines to connect them. "Stonehenge, Snowden, the Great Orme..." One by one, a connecting point soon became obvious. "These are all coordinates taking us… Here..."

"Greenwich?" Ian and I asked at the same time.

With one hand I began typing a message on my phone. Though I expected the Circle to already know exactly where they needed to be (even if they hadn't seen it fit to tell me), I decided it wouldn't go amiss sharing the information with them.

At the same time I couldn't help but look at the intern, Ian Boothby, the poor boy looked so far out of his depth it wasn't even funny. There was also something in the way he kept looking at Darcy, I realized he had a crush on her... too bad for him she was already taken.

"The walls between worlds will be almost non-existent." Jane stated as she considered everything that was going on. "Physics is going to go ballistic. Increases and decreases in gravity, spatial extrusions… The very fabric of reality is going to be torn apart..."

"And unless we want the effect to be permanent, or worse, we better get moving." Loki stated soberly, before turning to Darcy. "Did you get in contact with SHIELD?"

"The only one who did answer my calls is too far to be of any help to us." Darcy admitted. "I'm afraid we're on our own on this one."

"Not quite." I chose that moment to reveal the other participants. "The Circle is here."

"The Circle..." Jane repeated, confused, as she'd never met them.

"I thought the coven lived in another country?" Thor had actually met them (as he needed to escort us on our trips to Midgard back then), but he'd never gotten to know them.

"They do." I nodded. "But Muse knew we would need help, so they came. They shall form a perimeter around the place where we expect the confrontation against Malekith to take place. Nothing shall get in or out once the barrier is formed. That will allow us to limit the damage and protect civilians as much as possible."

"Do they have the power for something like that?" Loki asked, worried.

"They should." I nodded. "The triumvirate are confident they can do it, if needed I will link myself to them to give them more power."

"Meanwhile my brother and I will battle Malekith." Thor declared.

"Forget not the Lady Ylva, brother, she's a brave warrior too." Loki pointed out before the blonde could complain about her exclusion.

"Of course!" The thunderer realized his blunder immediately. "Forgive me, Lady Ylva, it will be a pleasure to have you fight by our side."

Ylva nodded, satisfied.

"What are we waiting for?" Loki asked, ready for the action.

He was right, there was no time to lose, we simply couldn't afford to be late, not with the threat that was coming...

**xXx**

The place of the confrontation turned out to be Greenwich University. On the way there we argued about the plan of action. Thor, as always, was all for a direct fight, the rest of us thought that was absolutely idiotic.

"What about those things Dr. Selvig has been working on?" Ian asked.

"They're sensors, nothing more..." Erik began.

"What if we used them to create anomalies, rather than just detect them?" Jane proposed, a plan beginning to form in her mind. "I mean, the Convergence will already be taking place, we could use the devices to pull the energy to them, creating smaller portals. If we plant them around the area we could get rid of the dark-elves, a few at a time."

"It might be helpful." Loki agreed. "If you manage to make it work. I don't think anyone has ever tried to channel the Convergence's power in such a way..."

"We lose nothing by trying." Jane decided.

"Indeed." My love nodded. "We will see about setting the devices in the best spots, meanwhile you and Dr. Selvig should find a vantage point from where you can see the area and be able to activate them at the right time."

"Ian and I can help with that." Darcy offered, and when seeing the looks everyone directed at her, she added. "We won't stay, of course. But there are five devices, if each of us takes one, we'll finish faster. It'll also be safer to you. If the three of you deliver the ones behind wherever the dark-elf and his army come out you could take him by surprise."

"I like that plan." Ylva stated, eyes predatory.

"I do as well." Loki agreed. "However, how do you plan to distract Malekith from noticing us the moment we begin working on the devices? How o you even plan on protecting yourselves while you are setting yours?"

"I can do that." I spoke, finally.

"No!" Several voices cried out at the same time.

"You're not getting yourself killed, my Nightingale." My love stated seriously. "Not when you barely avoided such a destiny, for the second time, two days ago!"

"I'm not getting myself killed." I assured him softly, caressing his face. "I can protect myself, and the Circle will be there too. Also, how shocked do you think the bastard will be to see I've survived?" She smirked. "It's the perfect distraction!"

"I hate to admit it, my lord, but she's probably right..." Ylva admitted quietly.

"My love..." He began, voice hoarse with fear for me.

"I'll be alright, he will never be able to touch me. I promise you." I told him softly.

"He better not." My lover hissed, pulling face to him and kissing me shortly but full of passion. "If he so much as touches a hair on your head I will tear him limb by limb..."

"Hey! I like that idea!" Darcy cried out abruptly.

Everyone turned to look at her like she was crazy.

"Not the creepy-touching part, the tearing-limb-from-limb part!" Darcy explained quickly. "It would be like that episode where they talked about how the Judge had been defeated the first time, by cutting him into pieces and then burying them across the world. Only in this case it could be worlds, plural..."

And everyone just kept looking at her like she was crazy. I had some idea what she was talking about, though I couldn't actually remember where she might be taking the idea from, just knew I'd heard it before..

"No?" Darcy asked.

"What Judge do you speak of, Darcy?" Thor asked her, finally. "Is there some other threat to this realm we should worry about?"

"No!" It looked like the girl couldn't help herself, she laughed. "Have none of you ever seen Buffy the Vampire Slayer?"

There! That explained it. I'd been a fan of the show once, the love-story between Buffy and Angel was so beautiful... but after he left it just wasn't the same. I'd lost interest in it eventually. But yes, I remembered the Judge, and began to like Darcy's plan.

"That's it, when this is over we're having a Buffy the Vampire Slayer marathon!" The young woman announced. "You'll get to learn about pop-culture and maybe even some techniques for fighting evil creatures!"

The idea of Asgardians using techniques from a tv-show to fight their battles was so ludicrous I couldn't help but laugh uproariously, so did Darcy and Jane for that matter. Loki himself chuckled quietly, able to see the thoughts in my head; while Ylva and Thor hadn't the slightest idea what had caused our laughter.

It was a nice way to lift the mood, especially considering the seriousness of the battle we were headed for. We all knew what we stood to lose if we failed, and our lives were actually at the bottom of that list. No, if Malekith won we would end up worse than dead, that was for sure, and so would be everyone else in all the realms... we couldn't fail, we simply couldn't.

**xXx**

As I'd expected, the Circle was already there by the time we arrived. Cassie, already dressed as Muse, and accompanied by her husband, with short wine-red hair and blue-gray eyes, dressed in more normal clothes, went to meet us.

"We're ready." The witch announced the moment she stood before us.

"Are you sure your shields will be able to endure?" Ylva inquired.

She'd never seen mortals wield magic, but she doubted it could be strong enough, considering how fragile their bodies tended to be; on the other hand, she'd seen Jane endure being the host for the Aether without losing her mind completely or her body being torn apart, and that was no minor achievement.

"Since our confrontation with Black John a while ago, we all made sure to be ready in case we'd ever need to go against someone powerful again." Muse explained calmly but sternly to the Aesir warrior-lady. "What we will be doing here are no individual shields, as they would be too fragile; neither can we use layered ones, for the area we expect will be used as a battlefield is too wide to allow for such a close circle to be formed. So instead we've prepared to create a dome, channeling the highest form of each of our powers."

"How will you be able to do that when, as you've already mentioned, the area is too wide to form a proper circle?" Erik asked, curious.

"With these." Adam, Cassie's husband, explained as he raised what looked like a piece of rope.

It only looked like a piece of rope, in truth, it was a lot more. The plait was formed by a strand of actual rope, weaved jointly by the crones of their coven; while the other two strands were formed by locks of hair of members of the coven. That was important, since their kind of magic was better channeled through their own bodies than anything else, hair was good enough. Also, placed at specific points of the 'rope' were gems, the one corresponding to each person that would be holding an end of the cord as well as one meant to augment power. Each piece of 'rope', therefore, was made to connect two specific members of the Circle, channel their powers together in the best way possible as well as bolster them; and it was what would allow them to create a perimeter wide enough for what was coming.

For the time being the Circle had taken positions, sitting on the ground, in a wide circle, around what they expected to be the battlefield. Except for the point closest to the Thames River, as Muse had seen the enemy coming from that direction. Diana and Faye would be closing the circle on that point, and were ready to move into position as soon as the enemy was in his. The pieces of rope too were laying on the ground, connecting the witches and warlocks, ready to be picked up the moment the dome was to be raised.

"Will you, your shield, truly be able to hold against Malekith's power, against the Aether?" Thor asked next, doubtful.

"We will, it will." Adam stated solemnly. "The earth, the sky, the sun, the moon, every star, and planet, and flower and tree, every drop of water from the rivers, the rain, the sea... every force of nature that exists in the universe is ours to call on, and it will make sure that our magic holds."

Thor could only look at the young man in silence, his brain screaming that it was ludicrous, absolutely impossible, mortals couldn't have that kind of power, it just wasn't possible... not even his brother could access that much power...

Loki stopped him before he could say a word, he knew that Thor did not understand, then again, he wasn't a sorcerer. If his brother had any idea of how much power my love had access to... still, having access to power, being able to use it, did not mean there were no consequences. If mortals were to call on that kind of power for any considerable amount of time, it would consume them... also, the kind of power Adam had enlisted wasn't accessed by any one person, but by all twelve members of the circle working at the same time. It simply wasn't possible any other way...

"What about the civilians?" Erik called right then. "Haven't seen anyone yet but..."

"That's because they're all gone." Muse explained. "Huntress caused a small fire, nothing truly life-threatening, but enough to make the alarms ring and prompt everyone to evacuate. If our calculations are right, the enemy will be here before the fire-fighters can arrive and secure the place. Afterwards it won't matter."

"It's starting..." Several of the witches announced at the same time.

Turning our eyes to the sky we could all see it, like mirrors floating among the clouds, perfect circles, windows into the other realms... the same Malekith would use to aid in the destruction of the universe... the Convergence had begun.

As if on cue, the water of the Thames began agitating violently, a second before Malekith's ark materialized on the river-shore. Except it did not stop there, it moved forward, onto the dry-land, pushing into the yard where the others were waiting, until it eventually stopped, in the very center of it, beneath where the windows into other worlds were beginning to align.

"Lets get moving people!" Jane called out loudly as she began running, Erik on her heels. "It's now or never!"

Loki, Thor, Ylva, Ian and Darcy each took one of the devices before running to surround the ship, placing them at more-or-less even intervals. For the three Aesir it was easy, simply a matter of thrusting the things down, until they were deep enough into the ground. It was harder for Ian and Darcy, who had to use mallets to push them in, as their own strength wasn't enough. At the same time, behind the huge vessel, Diana and Faye rushed to take their places, ready to close the circle and raise the dome after the two young humans got out.

Ian finished first, he didn't even look back, the dark-elves were already marching out of the huge spacecraft; so as soon as he was sure the strange thing (he hadn't the slightest idea what it was supposed to be) was steady enough, he turned and ran, dashing in between two of the members of the Circle, right before they raised from the ground, holding a rope between them. It was only once he was outside that he turned and noticed that Darcy was still working on her own sensor.

"Darcy!" He cried out, horrified.

He tried to return, but the Circle didn't allow him to. And really, once they's stood and closed their piece of the perimeter, it couldn't be opened again.

"Let me in!" He hissed, uselessly. "You don't understand!"

"We understand." Adam was the one to speak. "Darcy is strong, she doesn't need you to rush in to protect her, she doesn't need anyone to do that."

I could only shake my head silently. It wasn't like I hadn't noticed the way the intern kept looking at Darcy; I wasn't sure if he didn't know she was taken, of he just didn't care to know... in any case, Adam was right, Darcy did not need Ian rushing in there to protect her. She was perfectly capable of looking after herself.

That was, at least, until Malekith himself stepped out of the ship, and his eyes immediately turned to the opponent closest to him: Darcy...

He paid no attention to the object she was still fervently working on (which was probably a good thing), though he did notice her, marching her way.

"Mortals..." He hissed. "You will die this day..." He raised an arm, the Aether beginning to gather around him. "And you shall be the first..."

From my position I couldn't really see if the others were ready, and I had no idea if Jane had gotten into position just yet, but I couldn't wait anymore. While I still believed that Darcy was quite capable of looking after herself... Malekith, and especially the Aether were another matter entirely. So, taking a deep breath, I stepped into the (still open) circle, and allowed my aura to reach out, just enough for Malekith to notice me.

Curiously, the Aether seemed to react to my presence before Malekith himself did, I noticed that on a corner of my mind. I still was mostly focused on the dark-elf, on calling his attention onto me. It was time to see if our plan worked...

"Surprise! Surprise!" I called loudly, with fake-cheeriness.

That certainly called his attention. So I just stood there, waited... and nothing. Malekith was looking straight at me, but it was as if he wasn't really seeing me.

"Who are you to stand before me and defy me, child?" He asked darkly.

"You really don't know who I am, do you?" I laughed at the irony. "And to think I'll never be able to forget your horrible face..."

He roared at me, an attempt at intimidation probably, I could only laugh.

"Let me jog your memory a little." I told him playfully, before pulling on the band securing my hair in the tight bun, letting it loose around my shoulders. "Remember me now?"

Even before he said anything I knew he did, it was in the expression in his eyes, the way his expression twisted, he was furious...

"Witch!" He snarled at me. "You should be dead!"

"You know, you're not the first to think that..." I admitted, keeping the laughter in my voice, both because I truly found the whole thing funny, and to annoy him further. "You're the second person who's failed at it, though."

"I will destroy you!" He roared at me, pointing at me with both hands.

I did not need to look down to see the Aether being directed. Still, I refused to allow fear to take over. So, with the same serenity I'd walked in his direction, I walked backwards. From the corner of my eye I could see Darcy finally finishing setting the last device, before pulling out her two electric-guns and using them with dead-on accuracy against the closest dark-elves even as she ran to the edge of the circle, jumping over one of the ropes as the two witches in that area raised it, and themselves into position.

"You should be dead." Malekith kept insisting. "I will kill you!"

"No you won't." I told him calmly. "But my family will still destroy you for trying... and also for trying to destroy the universe, of course."

Behind me, and all around, the chanting started:

"Power of sun have I over thee... Power of moon have I over thee..."

"Power of stars have I over thee... Power of planets have I over thee..."

"Power of blood have I over thee... Power of shadow have I over thee..."

Power of day, of night, of rain, of tree, of flower, of tides, of wind, of fire, of stone... and so on and so forth. Each member of the Circle was calling on their own spell, and yet it was as if they were all calling the same thing in perfect unison. I couldn't see the power being gathered, but I could sense it, and while very different from what I'd sensed from my match, it was absolutely amazing. The way it combined... it was enthralling...

It all happened in a fraction of a second, or at least that was how it felt to me: the Aether reached me, or it seemed to, I could practically feel its power, see it right before my eyes, except it never touched me... almost at that exact moment I gave the final step back, a rope raised before me, just an instant before the full force of the Infinity Stone would have hit me. The Aether hit the rising dome full-force and I could see one of Adam's and Cassie's arms shaking, the ones holding the rope before me; at the same time a shiver ran through everyone else in the Circle. Yet none of them faltered, they stood firm, their voices growing louder as they kept their chant, reaching a peak at the same time the dome finished forming.

"It's done..." Muse announced quietly a second after the chanting stopped.

It was done, all that was needed was for them to endure until the battle was over. And by the way elves began falling, most to Aesir weapons, but a few to carefully calculated portals; it was quite obvious everyone was doing their best to make sure the battle was as short as possible.

Ian was the first to notice the military planes on the air, seeking to approach Malekith's ark. They couldn't, of course, the Circle's shield didn't allow them to. At first I thought nothing of it, really, considering the size of that thing, and the battle taking place, it was only to be expected that the government would send someone to investigate, even to try and take down the ship (even if they hadn't the slightest idea of what was going on).

In the end, they did go the 'Judge-route', something Darcy, Jane and I found incredibly funny. A moment came when the warriors couldn't help but be distracted by the seemingly-never-ending army of dark-elves; something Malekith took advantage of, to send the Aether up and through the portals created by the Convergence. Jane began calling loudly that it was too late, only for my love to use his magic to pull out the devices (and to think how long it took Darcy and Ian to hammer in theirs), before splitting them between the three and rushing into the black-and-red tornado created by the Aether.

No one outside got to see what was going on in there... then again, I did not need my eyes to do so. Jane and Darcy knew that, and they hurried to my side.

"They're alright." I stated, eyes closed so I could see through my match's own without getting dizzy by the double images. "Jane, have you the controls ready?"

"Yes." She knew there must be a plan. "What should I do?"

"One of the devices will appear as active in your screen any moment, when it does, do what you need to, to have it create one of the small portals." I instructed. "You must do that every time one appears on your screen. Also, make sure the portals lead to separate realms."

"What's going on in there?" Ian asked, absolutely confused.

"They're taking Malekith out, a piece at a time!" Darcy crowed, ecstatic.

She should be proud, I thought, it was her plan after all. And it worked quite well. What none of us could have foreseen, was the way the Aether went completely out of control once Malekith was gone... well, that was without taking Cassandra Blake into consideration.

I could sense the power shifting and growing a second before it all happened, calling out to my love before I was fully conscious of doing so:

*Get out of there!*

"Power of darkness have we over thee... power of light have we over thee... power of reality have we over thee!" The Circle chanted loudly, strongly.

The shield-dome they'd created before seemed to collapse upon itself, at the same time the ropes aiding in creating it turned to ashes in between the fingers of each pair, jewels vaporizing completely. There was a loud rumble, the ground groaning, followed by every window in our vicinity shattering at the same time then... silence.

"Is that it?" Darcy asked, hesitantly.

"Did we win?" Ian questioned almost at the same time.

"We did." Thor nodded slowly.

He, my match and Ylva were standing behind me, where Loki had teleported them the moment my frantic warning reached them; and just in time, I could only imagine what that much magic would have done to them if it had hit them.

He touched my arm lightly, a way to reassure me, and himself, that we were alright. Then he stepped through the edge of where the shield had been formed, and to the center, where the blackened and smoky remains of Malekith's ark remained. one only had to see those to get an idea of how much power the Circle had called on, at the end; that and the way most of them were either sitting or kneeling on the ground, panting, in that moment. That much power had certainly taken a lot out of them.

"Brother?" Thor called, unsure, seeing my love navigating those ruins.

"One moment brother." Loki replied, before seemingly finding whatever he was looking for, and bending to pick it up. "Alright!"

There, in his hand, he was holding what looked like a small, rectangular box, it looked almost like a brick, most of it ashen black, but with a thick layer of shifting red in the middle.

"The Aether..." Several voices called at the same time.

It looked as if it were in a box, an invisible one, created with the power of the Secret Circle.

"How long will this last?" Loki asked of the triumvirate.

"As long as the universe does." The Huntress stated, a tint of arrogance in her voice.

"And as long as a Circle exists." The Priestess added for good measure. "It's created from the power of the universe, and held by the unity of the Circle. Even when we're gone, as long as a Circle exists, it shall remain."

As long as a Circle existed... that was some serious magic! I couldn't even grasp the idea of something like that.

"We should take this back to Asgard, decide what to do with it." Ylva declared.

"What are the chances that we won't all get arrested and thrown into dungeons the moment we set foot on Asgard?" Thor asked, only half-joking.

"It doesn't matter." My love replied with a mischievous smirk. "Even if they do throw me in a dungeon, it's not like I plan on staying there."

I couldn't help it, I giggled, at the same time almost everyone began laughing. They all saw it as a joke, if they just knew! My love was quite capable of doing as he claimed... it was probably good that they didn't believe it.

I still hoped we wouldn't end up in a dungeon, though. While I knew I hadn't left Asgard on the best of terms (an understatement considering the arguments I'd had recently with the Allfather), it had still become my home in the last year and I missed it... and I missed my son!

"Lets go home..." Loki murmured, seemingly reading my mind.

"Lets." I agreed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter: the aftermath of the convergence (and the battle), hints of AoS and a pretty huge revelation (the 'other' plot is coming to a head). Hope you'll like what's to come. 
> 
> I'm trying to decide who should play Ylva (for possible future covers and wallpapers), and I'm interested in your input. Currently I'm debating between Gage Golightly and Kristin Cavallari, but if one of you knows of someone better who fits the description given in chapter 1 I'm all ears! Also, I'm changing the one playing Hel from Amy Lee to Katie McGrath (Morgana in the Merlin tv show). 
> 
> One other question, for the fans of AoS out there. While I won't be diving into that particular piece of the MCU just yet, I'm outlining plans; so right now is the time to let me know if there's something you would like (either a piece of canon you want or some specific way you would like me to twist it). I cannot promise you I'll do everything I'm asked, but if it fits with my plans I will try. 
> 
> See ya around. And please don't forget to comment!


	4. Fourth Element: Air

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The one were things get a twist... or a few

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A thousand apologies for the lateness of this update, but yesterday I was out of town and today... I actually forgot. I swear I didn't mean to. 
> 
> Anyway, here we are now. And here it is where the story gets completely twisted around! 
> 
> Oh, and one more thing, the song in this chapter is Hayley Westenra's "Listen to the Wind" from the "New World" soundtrack.

**Fourth Element: Air**

Air gives us its breeze, gifts us with songs, and grants the beauty of an endless sky...

Leaving wasn't as easy as we'd have liked. At first I insisted that we stay long enough for the members of the coven to recover their strength. I hated to think of something happening to them when we were gone, they were all so vulnerable in that moment, especially the members of the triumvirate, and it was only because they'd helped us. It was only right that we made sure they were alright before leaving.

Of course, SHIELD had to choose that exact moment to make an appearance (after they'd ignored each and every call for help Darcy and I'd made...) Suddenly there was a woman standing in front of me, thick curls of deep mahogany hair to her shoulder-blades with bright-red highlights and light-brown eyes behind a pair rectangular glasses. She was wearing a dark sharp-suit, black heels and holding a SHIELD badge that marked her as a Level 8 Agent.

"Hello, I am Agent Hand, from SHIELD, what's happened here is a matter of National Security and we will be taking over now." The woman began.

"Ha!" Adam snorted behind me. "Where were you when the actual battle was taking place?"

Agent Hand looked him up and down before looking away, dismissing not only him but everyone in the Circle in an instant. I could sense Faye's annoyance at that, thankfully Diana managed to calm her down before the Huntress caused a scene. SHIELD did not need to know about the coven, there was a reason why only three people inside the organization knew about them, and all had sworn not to reveal anything.

"A team will arrive shortly to secure the area." Agent Hand continued. "Meanwhile, I will need all of you to come with me for a debriefing."

It was obvious in the way she turned her back on me, on us, and began walking away even before the last word came out of her mouth that she expected to be obeyed, no questions asked. Well, wasn't she about to get a surprise... I couldn't help but remember something that had happened in Asgard, shortly after Loki began showing me around Asgard (after our union had been sanctioned, the magik-storm, and the revelation of his origins):

_It hadn't been long since I had first seen Asgard, and I was still familiarizing myself with the realm. Thankfully it wasn't as big as I would expect a whole world to be. It'd been a week since we'd returned to Asgard from our short trip to Jotunheim with little Hákon in tow, and what I'd feared most had happened sooner than I expected: my son was sick._

_There was some virus going around, and he'd caught it, and since it was a kind of illness no jotun ever got, my boy had no defenses against it. I would have gone insane with worry but, thankfully, Lady Frigg had been there, she'd explained to me that Loki had gone through the same when he was very young. All the boy needed was a iced bath (the opposite of what a human or an Aesir would need) to keep with his normal temperature and some herbs._

_Being a Jotun himself it was only natural for Loki to take care of the bath, while I offered to go looking for the needed herbs, while the healers had many, some were quite rare, and not the kind they kept or cultivated, as Aesir had no need for them. Thor couldn't go, since he was on Midgard with Jane and no one else knew enough about the herbs and what was needed to help._

_So I went, it was the beginning of the year, though in a place like Asgard, that did not seem to matter much. I was wearing my favorite dress, with long transparent sleeves and a white shawl over my shoulders. Once in the market I went straight to the herbalist, I remembered him from the time when my match had taken me, he sold the best lemongrass for tea, along with many other herbs (both healing and otherwise)._

" _Princess Nightingale..." The man received me with a smile. "What brings you here? Why is Prince Loki not with you?"_

" _My match remains at the palace, looking over our ill son." I explained to him quietly._

" _The little prince has fallen ill?" The herbalist seemed truly worried. "It must be this awful virus that's going around. It's made almost every child around here sick."_

" _Yes well, Hákon appears to be especially sensitive." I admitted to him. "Thankfully, Lady Frigg had previous experience with it all. Loki's helping our boy keep his body at the right temperature, while I've come looking for the needed herbs."_

" _Tell me what you need, my lady." He said with a nod, obviously realizing that the herbs would be rare, and quite important to me._

_Thankfully he had everything I needed, and soon I had the needed packaged herbs inside a bag and under my arm. I was so excited at the idea that soon my son would be all better that I wasn't as aware of my surroundings as I should have, I'd just stepped outside the small market when something hit me on the side of the head. The first thing I noticed was the smell, potent, awful... then I felt the wetness on the side of my head, my hair, my clothes; the last thing I became aware of was the stinging on my temple, whatever had been thrown at me had managed to open a cut just bellow my hairline, it was small, yet, like Aunt Kathryn had always said, 'the head always bleeds the worst'._

_And yet, it wasn't the cut that got to me most, but the fact that someone had thrown such a thing at me. It hadn't even been an actual weapon. I could see the pieces on the ground at my feet, it was a small vial, glass (which explained the cut, as it had shattered against my temple), and worst was that it hadn't been empty, it had had crud inside (which explained the smell). I was so shocked by it all that for several seconds I couldn't say a word._

" _Princess!" I could hear several voices calling, most absolutely shocked._

_Abruptly, I saw none other than Sif standing in front of me. I reacted instinctively, raising a hand to smack her own away as it reached for my head. She took hold of it, making it seem like that had been the plan all along, before twisting us in such a way that no one could hear what we said, or even try and read our lips._

" _Easy, little princess..." She whispered softly, her own nickname for me. "You need to take it easy right now..."_

" _I... Sif?" I was still a bit lost. "I don't understand."_

" _I know you don't, Nightingale." She admitted. "I didn't know you had left on your own until you were already gone, otherwise I'd have come with you."_

" _What...?" Had she known...?_

" _I suspected something like this could happen." She explained quietly. "You know, we all knew, that not everyone would accept Loki, even after what the two of you did to help all those people the day of the magik storm. And while most may be too cowardly to try and insult the Prince of Asgard, they still see you as an easy target." Her voice turned to steel. "Which is why you need to prove them wrong right now. You cannot falter now, Nightingale, you cannot show any weakness whatsoever..."_

" _You believe me weak?" I couldn't help but mumble._

" _Never." She stated honestly. "I may not understand everything you've gone through, but I do know it requires someone with great strength, of body, mind and heart, to be able to deal with someone like Loki. You can do that, have been doing so since you were a child, which means you are most certainly not weak."_

_And then there was Thanos... though I knew not everyone believed everything we'd said about the Mad-Titan and our confrontation against him._

" _What now then?" I asked her, taking a deep breath to focus._

" _Now you show that same strength to everyone else." She answered softly. "You show them what Nightingale, wife of Loki and Princess of Asgard, is truly made of."_

_Carefully she pushed a lock of hair behind my ear, though she made no attempt to clean the wound on my temple, or the crud and blood matting my hair and face... no, she was actually making sure everyone would see it._

_I understood then, it wasn't about hiding, but exactly the opposite. Whoever had thrown that vial at me, had done so in an attempt to humiliate me, to make me cower and hide... I couldn't, wouldn't allow that._

_With a final nod at Sif I straightened up, taking the packages from the herbalist's hands (he'd gone out when hearing the commotion). I nodded at him with a smile before making for the road to the palace once again, Sif at my heels. Not a word was said, not by me, not by anyone, even the whispers of the onlookers had stopped. The people on the streets stepped away to let me pass, and whenever I would turn in some direction they would look away, as if ashamed to be found looking at me when I was in such a state. I did not care. I was going to prove, to them, to my attacker, to all of Asgard, that Nightingale, that Loki's wife was no weakling, no coward, they wouldn't make me back down._

_Once in the palace I called on a simple elemental spell to wash the crud and blood from my hair and face, before re-arranging my hair to cover the scabbed over cut. I left the shawl with a servant and, thankfully, it had protected my dress from most of it, what remained of the smell could be easily explained as an accident while I was in the market. I might be brave and ready to prove it, but that did not mean I wanted Loki to see me in that state and go into a rage, especially not when we both needed to focus on helping our son heal..._

Loki did find out about what happened, eventually. He'd found the attacker and gone after him in such a way that it could never be traced back to him. The man had been a merchant, and with a series of spells and whispers (while disguised) here and there, soon the man had no costumers whatsoever. Eventually he had to move off-world to try and rebuild his business elsewhere. My love hadn't meant for me to know, but I did anyway, and since no one had been truly hurt, I let him have his victory (I had to admit to feeling a certain satisfaction, at being avenged in such a way); I also suspected the herbalist had helped...

In any case, Sif's words came back to me in that moment, as I stood in what had just been the site of an interdimensional battle, looking at the back of the woman who'd just dismissed me as if I were nothing more than an ignorant little girl...

"No." The word to come from my lips broke the silence.

"What...?" The Agent turned back to face of me, shock obvious in her features. "What was it you just said, girl?"

"I believe you heard me just fine, Agent." I told her calmly, but with all the authority my position demanded. "And I am not girl, I am Lady Nightingale, princess of Asgard. If you expect us to respect you for your position you could do the same."

"Very well, princess." The sarcasm was obvious in her tone. "Will you follow me now?"

"No, I won't, and they won't either." I signaled to the Circle, gathered behind me. "We asked for SHIELD's assistance before the battle began, and no one could be bothered to help us. The Circle came, because they knew how much danger innocent people would be in if we were to try and do everything on our own, but I shall not allow SHIELD to use this as an opportunity to get more people in their Index and harass them, as you've done with every gifted you've learnt about."

"The Index is necessary..." Hand began, exasperated. "The... people with special abilities need to be under watch, for their own good as well as the world's."

"So you say." I interrupted her. "I say that's just your excuse. People like the Circle have existed for generations without SHIELD knowing anything, and everything's been just fine. You still wouldn't know they exist if it weren't for their own compassion and wish to protect those that need to be protected." I narrowed my eyes at her before he could interrupt me. "I say the Circle is under my protection. If you want to get to them you will have to go through me, and you will find that's not an easy thing to do."

"We have a pact with Asgard..." Agent Hand insisted. "They know of SHIELD and will accept that we need to know more about this people. Besides, they aren't even Asgardians!"

"You have a deal with a prince of Asgard, not with everyone." I reminded her, not at all bothered by her attitude. "And the Circle is under my protection, mine and my husband's!"

"And who might that husband be?" The Agent asked testily.

"Why that would be me, Agent..." Loki was suddenly at my side.

The woman actually flinched, obviously not expecting my love to just appear without her seeing him approach. Or maybe she'd believed me to be bluffing...

"Loki Odinson, Prince of Asgard." He introduced himself with an almost predatory smile. "And like my match has so eloquently put it, the Circle is under our protection. As spell-casters it's only natural. It was agreed with your Director Fury that their coven, as well as any other that might reveal itself in time, would be so, and SHIELD would respect that and not interfere, with us or them unless it was a matter of world-security... and even then, they would have to come to us with it first."

"That's impossible!" The Agent was in full denial. "I would know if such a deal had been made. I am a Level 8 Agent!"

"The deal was kept on a need-to-know basis, Agent Hand, and you simply did not need to know." Another voice announced from the side.

"Agent Lewis..." Hand's tone turned almost sour when seeing the brunette.

"Agent Darcy Lewis." Darcy flashed her badge and introduced herself to the benefit of the younger Agents following Hand. "Lady Nightingale is of course, right, in what she has just said. Agent Hand, you're free to bring the matter up with Director Fury or Deputy Hill next time you meet them, if you wish." She turned her attention to the other Agents. "I imagine you shall be studying the remains of the battle. I would recommend caution, while the Event has passed, we have no way of knowing for sure if there could be remnants of the anomalies or even the magic that was used during the battle. If any of the Aesir or the members of the Circle wish to share something for you to add to your files, they will do so; like Lady Nightingale said, you cannot attempt to force them in any way."

I did not need magic to pick up on how much Victoria Hand did not like what Darcy was saying; I did not need it either to realize that regardless of that, there was something I knew not, that made it so Hand had to obey Darcy, something that went beyond any 'Level' one or the other might hold. I mentally added that to the list of questions I was planning on asking my best friend at the earliest opportunity (and probably in private), the first of which involved the tan-line I could see on her ring finger, and the chain that hung from her neck and held something (I would bet that the ring missing from her finger). Even as observant as I usually was, I wouldn't have noticed such details under normal circumstances, but the object hidden beneath Darcy's blouse held power, and not only that, it also marked the end of a two-way bond... something was most definitely going on.

Agent Hand just waved us past, not liking it, but somehow unable to do anything at all. Diana was actually kind enough to approach one of the junior Agents and explain (in somewhat vague terms) what the Circle had done to help, with Faye standing glaring silently at anyone that got what she considered too close to her partner.

We were on our way out when suddenly Thor seemed to become aware of something as he asked:

"Where is the Son of Coul?"

For several seconds nothing but silence, hard and unforgiving, was his answer; until, eventually, Hand turned to the god of thunder.

"Agent Coulson fell in the line of duty." She said stoically.

"Dead?!" Thor blurted out in shock.

My love and I didn't say a word, instead we just looked at each other, the exact same thing going through both our minds:

*We are being lied to...*

**xXx**

We took just long enough to take the Circle to the closest airport, I'd offered Salani manor for them to rest for a night but they declined, saying they would rather rest once they were home. I had no idea when their plane was leaving, or anything at all, but Cassie insisted that we not worry about it, arrangements had been made. After promising to send a message to Darcy, in case we weren't 'around' once they made it back to New Salem, we split.

We made it back to Jane's apartment in a relatively short time. We could have gone to Salani manor, but I was quite sure that we were being followed by someone from SHIELD and I wasn't about to reveal to them where my second home was. I'd done a pretty good job of hiding the one in Portland, Maine, until my funeral, and a part of me felt better having a place no one knew of where I could go in case of an emergency. And it wasn't just me, Darcy had used her techno-genius to create a special app which was included in her phone as well as Jane's; in case of an emergency they were to activate it, and it would guide them to the house (it would also help warn us that something was going on).

"So, I suppose you're leaving then..." Jane mumbled quietly.

We'd washed off the grime of the battle and after a quick spell to clean our clothes we were ready. Jane looked particularly morose as she said that.

"That depends entirely on you." No one was expecting those words to come from my beloved's mouth... not even I.

"What?!" Jane turned to look at him in obvious shock.

"Brother..." Thor began, not sure he was going to like where the whole thing was going.

"Two questions brother." My match said for all answer. "Do you trust me?"

"Of course I do!" The Thunderer actually seemed affronted by the question.

"Needed to ask." Loki shrugged (even as he preened at the immediate answer) before switching to Old Norse. "Do you want Jane to be your wife, match and one day Queen?"

"What?!" Jane called, confused. "I only understood my name from all that." She turned to me. "What did Loki just say?"

"It's a bit personal." I told her evasively. "It's better that Thor explains it to you... once he gives an answer to my Maverick..."

"Yes." Thor sounded more solemn, though no less sure when he answered then. "But I have no idea how..."

"That's where the trust part comes in." My love explained, switching back to English as he turned to Jane. "You need to get changed, pronto."

"What...?" Jane still had no idea what was going on.

"You're coming with us!" Loki finally announced brightly.

"What?!" This time the shocked outcry came from everyone else.

My beloved, for his part, just laughed, almost maniacally, at everyone's surprise. Thor didn't say a word, just rolled his eyes at Loki's antics.

"Is that a good idea?" Darcy asked, extremely worried. "I thought Asgard was... well... kind of off-limits to all of us."

"Usually that would be right but..." I wasn't actually sure how to explain things. "After what happened today... there really won't be a better time to do this."

"Do what exactly?" Erik asked next, they still didn't get it.

"Present Jane before my parents, and the Court, as my intended." Thor stated seriously.

By that point the shock simply seemed to be too much for anyone to even cry out.

"That's what I want, more than anything." Thor stated, going to stand before Jane. "I want you Jane. As my friend, my lover, my wife, and one day my queen. I want you by my side, to the end of time... do you want that? Do you want me like that?"

"Yes..." The scientist sounded breathless even as she answered.

"But how?" Darcy insisted. "You said Odin wouldn't approve."

"He probably still won't." My love shrugged, as if that were a minor detail. "Which is exactly why this is the perfect time for this."

"Consider what happened today." I elaborated knowing my husband wouldn't (if only because he found it funny for everyone to look so lost... he might be one of the good guys, but he was still the god of mischief). "Malekith, the Aether, the Convergence... a battle took place, in direct view of every single Realm. Individuals across the worlds saw what happened, and saw who was involved. We literally saved the universe today..." And wasn't that a sobering thought? "If we add to that the recent conflict with the Marauders... some of the realms will feel indebted to Asgard, like never before. They will feel honor-bound to send representatives to the Realm Eternal, to offer their best wishes to Thor, Loki and the rest of us, for what was achieved."

"That will help Thor ensure his position as future King of Asgard." Ylva pointed out helpfully. "And if the envoys were to see Lady Jane standing by his side..."

There was no need for her, for any of us, to elaborate further, the message had gotten across loud and clear. So, with that in mind, Jane spun around and went straight for her bedroom and the blue Asgardian gown she'd slipped off before the battle.

Loki approached his brother to talk quietly to him, giving him pointers on the best way to handle the situation we were about to jump into; Thor knew he couldn't afford to make any mistakes, his future with Jane might very well depend on it.

It seemed like Darcy had every intention to follow her friend and help her get ready, but I stopped her briefly before she could go.

"Silbhé?" She asked, confused (she was one of very few to still call me that).

"I would like to ask you a favor." I told her softly, though with an edge in my voice, which she noticed. "Next time you talk to Fury tell him you cannot lie to the God of Lies... or his match. And he better have a very good reason for this farce..."

To emphasize what I was talking about (for I knew there was a chance she would pretend to be ignorant otherwise) I pressed the palm of my hand to her chest, to the object hidden beneath her shirt; her eyes widened, showing she knew what I spoke of.

"There better be a very good reason..." I repeated, a hint of steel in my voice.

Really, I'd seen Thor's expression when he'd learnt about Phil's death, had seen Jane's own at the reminder of it... there better an extraordinarily good reason to lie to our friends like that, to make them suffer believing a dear friend was dead!

Darcy didn't say a word, she just nodded quietly before leaving the main area of the apartment and heading for Jane's room. I had a feeling my match and I would be having a meeting with Director Fury soon...

**xXx**

By the time we arrived to the palace in Asgard, the sun was setting already; the reason was a sum of things: it was my husband's idea that we use the Shadow Paths to return to Asgard (without the Aether it was fairly safe for Jane to tag along), using as excuse that the envoys of other realms would need the Bifrost; Thor was the one to express worry that there might be enemies left on Svartalfheim, and it was a good idea to go there first and take a look (to which Loki agreed). The dark world was mostly empty, except for a few stray elves that had been transported there with Jane's devices, and which the brothers made short work of. There was a piece of Malekith there too, which Loki took great pleasure turning into ashes with his magic.

We made it into Asgard through the same Hidden Road they'd used to get out, and once out my Maverick revealed a skiff he kept hidden in a small cave, just beside the entrance to the road. Then it was my idea that instead of flying the skiff to the dock beneath the palace, we used it to get us to the main port, the one that connected to the most populated area of Asgard. After all, we wanted people to see us, to see Jane and Thor together... she just went along for the ride.

Once there, we actually found things to do. Soon I had vanished my cloak and was putting all my training as a healer into practice as I helped those who'd been hurt during the fight against the dark-elves during the invasion days before. Jane looked at me in silence for a couple of minutes before requesting healing supplies from one of the volunteering healers and getting to work herself; she might not have the magic, but she was still certified as a paramedic, and the things needed for minor wounds weren't that different in one realm or the other. Ylva and the men followed our example on getting to work, helping here and there making places safer and getting people trapped in crumbled buildings out.

We didn't stay long in any one spot, but enough that by the time we left the center of the city everyone knew we'd returned. Everyone had also noticed the fourth member of our company, and how Thor would constantly turn to her, making sure she was alright, and of course the answering looks Jane directed to him when she thought no one was looking. It was perfect, and the best part is that there had been no need to orchestrate anything, those two loved each other so much it was impossible not to notice it (no matter how hard the Allfather might try)!

Sif met us right as we were arriving to the palace, right as Ylva took her leave (there was no reason for me to need her protection in the palace).

"Thor!" She called in a whisper-shout.

"Sif!" The blonde replied brightly. "It's good to see you well, my friend."

"The Queen convinced the Allfather there was no point in keeping us in the dungeons, after all, we only did what we did obeying your orders." Sif explained with a light smirk.

"A reasonable argument." Loki agreed.

"The Allfather wants to talk to you, all of you, in private." He stated, eyeing Jane briefly. "He told me to get you to his private office through one of the side entrances of the palace..."

"I'm afraid that will not be possible, my good Lady Sif." Loki stated, guiding us in the opposite direction. "We're going in through the front door!"

"But..." The goddess of war did not know what to say.

"I'm sorry Sif." Thor said quietly, Jane on his arm, making sure she wouldn't let go. "This is something I need to do..."

"Go ahead." I told them suddenly. "I'll explain things to her."

I wasn't sure if such a thing was possible, it wouldn't be if Sif wasn't willing to listen. Still, I had to try. Sif was my friend... as surprising as that had been considering the way Loki and she had treated each other in the past. But apparently my presence, hearing everything Loki had done for me, seeing how broken he was when they all believed me lost, had given the warrior-lady cause for rethinking several things. It also helped when she and my love sat together and cleared the air regarding certain past events, like Thor's almost-coronation, the Destroyer, among others.

"Sif..." I began, softly.

"Don't." She interrupted me with a hiss.

She probably knew already what I wanted to say, it's not like it was the first time we spoke about it, about how Thor and Jane were bound...

"I told you Sif..." I murmured anyway.

"You told me their bond was thin!" She cried out. "Fragile! Weak! You said nothing was for sure, no fate written in stone..."

"I also told you that if you and Thor were meant to be, like you wish you were, a bond would exist between the two of you, yet it doesn't." I reminded her softly.

I did not want us to fight, not again, not over the same... but I cared too much for her, didn't want Sif to destroy herself in a lost fight.

"I don't understand..." My friend half-sobbed, her voice turning suddenly near-hysterical. "What does that mortal have that I don't?!"

"It's not a matter of what one has, or what the other doesn't..." I tried.

"Don't give me that bullshit!" She half-snarled. "Tell me the truth!"

"The truth is that, in your own mind, your soul, Thor is your King, he always has been, always will be." I finally told her.

"What's wrong with that?" She was confused. "It's what he is..."

"It's not what he needs." I told her softly. "You respect him, honor him, consider him above you. You will never be able to see yourself as his equal, and a match is one about equals. It's not even just about Thor. Every match, needs to be about equals. Thor needs someone who will stand by him, against anything and everything, someone who will challenge him, inspire him and who, when he does something stupid, will be there to stop him too, who will point out his faults, and help him better himself. You cannot do that Sif, you respect him too much for that."

"You don't know..." She began, though she didn't believe her own denial.

"But I do." I sighed. "Remember Jotunheim?"

"What does Jotunheim have to do with anything?"

"After the failed coronation, Thor decided he wanted to go to Jotunheim, 'teach them a lesson', I believe is how he put it."

"Loki egged him on!"

"And you didn't stop it. You might have expressed reservations at first, but in the end you allowed your sense of duty and loyalty to him as a prince, to over-power your common-sense..." I shook my head. "It's how I know you could never be his match."

"And what about you? Have you ever been in such a position...?"

"Several years ago... Loki returned to me after spending a month being tortured in the abyss. I did everything I could to heal him. Then he told me he had to go back, because Thanos was planning to attack Earth, and unless he acted as his second in command and managed to reign in the Other and the chitauri, we ran the risk of our world being ravaged..."

"But your heroes saved the world..."

"Because Loki gave them the chance. He stalled Thanos for a year, and then he made a show out of it, allowing the heroes to gather, to become a team, before the actual invasion happened."

"How does this connect in any way..."

"When it all began Loki tried to send me away, to get me to distance myself from him, from the situation, said it was for my own safety."

"What did you do?"

"I told him he was an absolute idiot if he thought I was leaving him alone. Then I brought out the card Agent Coulson had left me with after talking with me the day of my graduation and called him to take the job with SHIELD. It was how I came to be part of them, teach them everything they needed to know who Loki was, and the chitauri, and everything else..." I shook my head. "I wasn't there the day of the actual battle. Loki manipulated someone into thinking Jane and her team needed to be evacuated for safety, and convinced me to go along with it. I only allowed it because I knew things would work out, and arrangements had been made beforehand so we would be flown back as soon as the fight was over."

"You would have walked into that battle..."

"If it had been necessary, yes, without a doubt. I also would have told him not to do it if I'd truly believed there to be any other way we could have defeated the chitauri..."

"And Thanos..."

"Yeah..." I let out a breath. "If you want me to be honest, sometimes I cannot help but think that we're not finished with him just yet."

"But you said you killed him!" She obviously wasn't expecting that.

"It's what I believed..." I shrugged slightly. "But remember that I was dying at the time, and Loki was too distraught over that to make sure of anything. Thor was the one to finish him off... If Thanos had some trick ready to help him escape none of the others would have noticed, not even Thor, he isn't as sensitive to magic as others of us."

"You think..." She didn't dare finish the thought.

"I think this is one situation where I rather be safe than sorry. Hope for the best, plan for the worst. I'd rather be ready for an attack and have it never happen, than for someone like the Mad Titan to catch me with my guard down."

Sif nodded briefly. For a few moments at least I'd managed to take her mind away from the situation with Thor. But I knew that ease couldn't remain, especially when I needed to leave her so I could join the others and enter the throne room all together.

"Sif..." I whispered, not quite sure how to leave her.

"There really never was any hope for Thor and me, was there?" She asked, half-brokenly.

"I'm sorry Sif." I whispered, not knowing what else to say.

"It's okay." She said, swallowing the knot in her throat. "You were just being honest with me, I appreciate that. At least now I won't be making a fool of myself, insisting on fighting a battle I cannot possibly win."

"I believe everyone has a match Sif." I focused on giving her what hope I could. "Someday you will find yours..."

"Someday..." She repeated.

I did not think she believed me, not really, I could only pray to the Higher Powers that I would be proven right one day. Sif deserved to have someone by her side, an equal, a perfect match.

"I'm sorry to leave you like this but..." I could feel my match calling, it was time.

"Go." She waved me away with a hand. "Go to where you're needed..."

Even if she did not know what exactly we were planning, she knew it was important.

With a last nod at her, I focused my magic and jumped, landing by my beloved's side right as the main doors to the Throne Room were opened, placing my hand on his arm just in time.

*Perfect timing...* He whispered in my mind.

*I live to please...* I teased him.

*You know what would really, really please me...* Her tone turned lewd as the hint of a smirk appeared on the corner of his lips.

*Focus on Jane and presenting her now... we can have fun later.* I returned the smirk just briefly before turning my eyes back to the front.

*Then lets get this show on the road!* He chirped theatrically.

We both took deep breaths, knowing that what was to come wouldn't be easy.

"Are you ready for this?" My Maverick asked under his breath to his brother in front of us.

"Jane...?" The blonde turned the question to his own beloved.

"Not at all..." She admitted, her voice catching, before she took a deep breath. "Lets do this."

I would have been more surprised if her answer had been affirmative; still she was willing to go through with it, and we could ask for nothing more. So with that, we stepped through the doors and into the bustling Throne Room.

**xXx**

By the time we reached Odin Allfather, Lady Frigg and the representatives of the Elder's Council at the head of the Throne Room we'd already mingled with almost half of the people there. All of which were subtly directed to taking notice of Jane, who never let go of Thor's arm. The fact that whenever mention was made of the recent battle the Lady of Science's knowledge and actions were praised could only help the image everyone was building in their minds of the young Midgardian woman.

"My sons... and daughter!" The Allfather greeted us once we reached him.

He didn't say anything regarding Jane's presence with us, though I was quite sure he was clever enough to realize what we were attempting. Lady Frigg just smiled before rushing to embrace each of us in turn.

"It does my heart good to see you all back!" She declared with a bright smile. "Recent events have caused me great worry and stress."

"We're sorry Mother, it was never our intent to hurt you so." Loki assured her.

"It's alright Loki, what matters is that you're here now, safe." She turned to Jane. "I'm happy to see you again as well, Jane."

"The pleasure is mine, my lady." Jane curtsied at her respectfully.

"There's someone else who's missed you too..." The Queen added with a smile.

I didn't get the chance to ask who, neither did we need to; next thing I knew there was a pair of arms around my knees and a face pressed into my stomach (which still felt a bit tender, though I did not let it show).

"Mama!" My little boy cried out holding onto me. "I missed you mama!"

I felt my eyes tear up at his words, not being able to imagine how he'd felt with everything that had happened in the last couple of days. Had he seen me when I was badly injured? Had he known about it? About what his dad and uncle had done? Had he seen any of the battle? Usually I would think people would have the common-sense to shield him from such things, but seeing how it was Asgard...

I had no way of getting answers to my questions. So I did the one thing I could in that moment, I dropped to my knees in front of my little boy and hugged him tightly.

"I'm here now baby." I whispered, kissing his hair. "Everything will be alright now, I promise you. We're all safe now."

"Papa and Uncle Thor kicked the bad guys' butts?" He asked innocently.

None of us could help the bursts of laughter at those words. It was so like a child, to see things in such a simple way... yet, one could say he was right.

"Yes Hákon..." I nodded, still holding him. "That's exactly what happened."

"Yay!" The little boy cheered, before finally letting go of me.

"Hullo Papa..." He called to my match.

"Hey son..." He smiled his small, warm smile, which was usually reserved for Hákon and I, and the privacy of our chambers. "Were you a big boy while your mama and I were busy?"

"Yes!" He announced, quite proud of himself. "I did all my homework and stayed inside when Miss Sigyn said I had to."

"Good, good." Loki messed up his hair with a chuckle. "My big boy. You make your mama and me very proud."

Hákon's smile seemed to grow brighter at that.

From the corner of my eyes I could see people's reaction to the interaction. Some seemed quite shocked by the way my husband was acting, having never seen him be so caring, so tender. Lady Frigg was smiling widely, she'd always known he was capably of so much more than he allowed to show most of the time. Odin's expression was the one that surprised me most, there was a mix of joy, hope and... pain. I did not understand.

The next second Hákon turned, seeing the other two people in our little group, and while he waved enthusiastically at Thor, his attention focused on Jane.

"Aunty Jane!" He called excitedly. "You're back!"

Somehow, his words seemed to drive the message better than any 'subtle maneuvering' on our part, Jane was with Thor, and she wasn't leaving...

**xXx**

The next fortnight had us going from meeting, to feast, to dance, to conference, on and on, almost every single day. There were so many people we needed to meet, to explain the events that had taken place (again) reassure them that Malekith and the dark-elves were all dead (and yes, this time really all of them), the Convergence was over and such an 'event' wouldn't happen again for the next five thousand years or so, the coven that had helped us in the battle were honorable and on our side; and most importantly: the Aether was safe, out of reach of the 'wrong hands' and would stay that way (though we still had no idea how to keep it that way...).

It was the one true argument we had with Odin Allfather during that time (because either he'd given up on his thoughts regarding who Thor's match should be, Lady Frigg had said something that made him quit for the time being, or he'd simply decided it was a bad idea to express the same kind of opinions he had in the past when all the visitors were seeing Jane Foster as one of the heroes who'd saved them). The King had wanted to get rid of the Aether, saying it was a bad idea to keep the object around when Asgard was already guarding the Tesseract, it was dangerous to keep more than one infinity stone in the same place. His plan had been to send it to someone called Taneleer Tivan, also known as 'the Collector' somewhere on the other side of the galaxy (as strange as that sounded to my ears). Loki had vehemently opposed that plan, though he refused to explain why (I could feel it had something to do with his time in the abyss, which would explain his reticence in talking about it). So I'd supported my match; Thor, seeing how strongly we felt about it, did the same, even if he didn't understand what was wrong, Jane just stayed out of it. So the Aether was still in the Weapon's Vault, though the Allfather had stated, rather strongly, that it could not stay there for any significant amount of time. My love and I agreed on making plans on the best way of safe-guarding it (regretfully we couldn't just toss it in the abyss and forget about it... it would be a bad idea, especially if my hunch proved right and Thanos was still alive).

Finally, two weeks after the Convergence, the battle and Jane's formal arrival to Asgard, a final celebration took place. A feast for all the envoys that had arrived from every single realm. The group from Alfheim had been the last to arrive, just the day before, and Thor and Jane had spent the most time with them; for some reason I couldn't comprehend, the elves didn't seem to like my love. Loki didn't seem to mind for the most part, said it was how things had been for as long as he could remember; he hadn't even done anything to them, it was simply how things were. Which was ridiculous, as Alfheim was the one Realm where things like cleverness, magic and wit were valued the most, shouldn't they like my match then?

Still, it was a chance to spend time with our son, I was afraid of being a bad mother with how busy we'd been during the last few days. Hákon had assured me he did not mind, he knew that his papa and I were important people: a prince and princess of the Realm Eternal, just like his birth Father had been King. He understood we were needed. Also, Jotunheim had sent a couple of Frost Giants as well, and since my love and I were the only ones who could safely be in close contact with them, it was to be expected that we escort them around.

Still, I was actually happy when the time came for the last feast. The envoys would be leaving the next day and everyone would get back to working on rebuilding and making sure life could go back to normal in our realm. After the mess that had been the last few weeks... the last year even, I wished for nothing more than some peaceful, even boring, time.

From the very start it was quite obvious that the feast had gained more importance than originally expected. It wasn't only a goodbye for our guests... I could see it the moment Jane stepped into the room (on Thor's arm, as had become usual), and yet, she had something on the very wrist of the hand she kept on the blonde prince's arm which she hadn't had before. At first sight it did not seem like much, merely a bracelet (less than an inch thick) made from braided pieces of leather, it was obviously handmade... and that was exactly where its significance came from.

Loki had once explained to me that Asgard had some ancient courtship traditions. While it wasn't unheard of for marriages to be arranged by the parents, it wasn't exactly common anymore either outside of the highest nobles and royals; and most of the unions that were created that way, were dissolved after a few years, once both parties had gotten what they hoped for, with the union (an heir, help with a business, a truce...). Even in those cases some traditions had to be respected; though they obviously carried more significance when the match was voluntary. The most important of all was the betrothal present, whenever possible two of them even, offered by each to their to-be-spouse and worn as a sign of their commitment to each other. It did not matter what the present was, as long as it had some significance and was meant for that specific purpose.

Some families used relics, as a way to honor ancestors, but most prided themselves in either commissioning or creating something absolutely unique to be used as a betrothal present. Lady Frigg's earrings were one such present, commissioned by Odin Allfather from the best dwarven jewelers in all the realms. My own nightingale pendant was the same; my beloved match had commissioned it from the dwarves, before weaving all kind of spells into it. I'd (unknowingly at the time) corresponded to this gesture when giving him the pendant with the chip that held the recording of me playing the dizi flute. He'd once told me that, even when he'd first commissioned my pendant he'd imagined it being a betrothal present, yet didn't allow himself to hold onto that thought, not when he wasn't sure anything would ever come out of it; so he'd chosen to call it a graduation present instead. Then things happened, and the pendant became what it was supposed to be all along.

For rich couples that was the first gift given in a relationship, followed by rings during the wedding ceremony itself, and whatever might come afterwards. However, most peasant couples, who did not have long engagements, or great riches, the betrothal present was the one thing they had to show for their relationship, and that was enough. Ylva was one such case too, she had no rings, for there was no way Fenrir could ever acquire one for her (and he hadn't believed it right to ask Loki for help, when the lady was his bride), still, I knew that for the valkyrie, the woven bracelet was more than enough.

Thor had chosen to go down a route few did. He'd done most of the present himself, the bracelet itself; and while it wasn't perfect, it was obvious how much care he'd put into it. It might not have been the most expensive betrothal present, but the message was obvious: he loved Jane, she was no passing fancy, but his future wife. The only detail he obviously hadn't done himself was the steel hammer hanging from the very middle of the bracelet, a perfect replica of Mjolnir and showing to anyone who might have been aware beforehand, just who Jane's future husband was.

I wasn't actually expecting Thor to have a corresponding present on him, except he did, it was a plait as well, only his wasn't made of leather, but entirely of hair: Jane's hair. A perfect lock of chocolate brown hair had been beautifully braided; and in the middle it was holding a natural 12-rayed (the rarest kind) star sapphire. It was a very beautiful, extremely rare stone, highly valued too; that one in particular Jane had found during a trip to Montana, while trying to prove her theories of Einstein-Rosen Bridges, and other worlds... since no one had claimed it, she'd gotten to keep it. It'd been the day after learning she could keep it that she'd first become aware of the increasing atmospheric anomalies on the New Mexico sky, where she'd gone afterwards. The anomalies kept growing, and she'd taken to keeping the stone on her person at all times. The rest, as some would say, was history.

I was still trying to fully process what I was seeing, when suddenly Sif was at my side, looking as shocked as I was.

"Am I seeing what I think I'm seeing?" She asked me in a hissed whisper.

"Either that or we're both hallucinating right now." I deadpanned.

"Neither of you is hallucinating." My match said with a chuckle from my other side.

"Did the Allfather approve of this?" Sif asked him.

"I'm not sure he even knows..." My love began, before seemingly noticing something from the corner of his eye. "Scratch that, he just noticed..."

... and he most definitely had not known. I could only hope Thor was ready to deal with the mess that was coming. Odin was political enough not to call his son out during the celebration, but by the next morning all bets would be off...

Things actually went quite well for the feast. While a number of ladies had commented on Jane's 'obvious lack of fortune' (adding that to her mortality and lack of name), showed in her choice of betrothal gift; someone had at one point said how special it was that, from all the things Jane could have used as her betrothal gift, she'd chosen to give a part of herself, claiming that it showed a level of commitment few were willing to give... And since everyone in Asgard knew the level of commitment Loki and I had (the vows we had pronounced, the Ancient Rites...), it was only right for Jane to have followed suit; and that was also something few would ever think of doing, of offering.

The golden bow to the evening was when my match got on his feet to offer a toast:

"Brother..." He called in a strong, honest voice. "I remember the first time I saw you, after you'd met Jane Foster. A few days in her company, and she'd changed you, she brought out a part of you I hadn't seen in years, the best part." He turned to Jane, at Thor's right. "My lady, you've done miracles worthy of any goddess. I have faith that, with you by his side, Thor will one day be the King Asgard needs; just like he's the warrior, man... and brother..." He took a breath to hide the way his voice was close to breaking. "To my brother and his lady, may the Higher Powers watch over you and bless your union!"

"To Thor and Jane!" I seconded him.

"To Prince Thor and Lady Jane!" Our friends followed.

And from there the wishes extended around the room.

I reached for my beloved's face with a hand once he sat back down; a part of me couldn't help but think that it was a speech better fitted for a wedding, rather than an engagement; and yet it didn't make any word any less true, and it had certainly driven the point home. Thor and Jane were together, and they would remain that way.

*I love you...* I whispered into our bond.

*No more than I love you...* He replied with a soft smile, taking my hand in his and pulling it to his lips, to place a delicate kiss on my palm. *Forever...*

*Forever...* I agreed, nothing else would have felt right.

"Sister!" Thor called right then. "Would you sing for us?"

If I was honest, I'd already been expecting that, just not quite so soon. Most of the time people did not ask me to sing until later in the night, after they'd gotten tired of drinking and dancing. However, it was my brother asking, and I imagined he wanted something to keep with the mood of an engagement party.

"It will be my pleasure brother..." I nodded at him.

As I walked to the dais where the musicians were placed my mind worked a mile a minute, trying to decide what song to sing. I couldn't help but think that most of the songs I'd sung in the past just did not fit in that moment. Also, as if I didn't feel enough pressure already, as I walked by I could hear whispers about my voice. Aesir telling our visitors from other realms how good a singer I was. I became especially nervous when Volstagg, quite vocally, compared me to that elven lady again, the one I could never remember the name of... and I could only wonder what the group of elves present would think about that.

I'd just stepped into place when a song came to me. I didn't even know where it was coming from. It wouldn't be the first time a song came to me like that, not even the first time someone had heard me sing a song before I had the time to study and practice it. I would have never imagined singing something like that before so many people, and yet in that moment, with that song, it just felt so right... so I let go, and began singing:

"Time is a river that flows endlessly  
And life is a whisper, a kiss in a dream."

From the moment the first word left my lips I couldn't help but feel as if some kind of force was taking over me. It was nothing bad, for I knew if it were my beloved would sense it and do something about it. No, it was more as if another part of myself, a part that had been asleep for a long time (decades) had suddenly woken up, putting words on my lips and feelings in my heart.

"Shadows dance behind the firelight  
And all the spirits of the night remind us:  
We are not alone..."

"Tomorrow: a sun soon rising  
And yesterday is there beside us  
And it's never far away."

I still did not understand where it was all coming from, but I did not fight it. A part of me knew that song was important, that it needed to be sung; it was no longer about giving a show, or even doing what my brother-in-law had asked, there was more, even if I myself did not know what. As if the song carried a secret message even I wasn't privy to, one that needed to come out now.

"If you listen to the wind you can hear me again  
Even when I'm gone you can still hear the song  
High up in the trees as it moves through the leaves  
Listen to the wind, there's no end to my..."

"Love is forever a circle unbroken  
The seasons keep changing; it always remains."

As the song went on, it began to feel more natural. I still knew not where the song had come from, but the emotions began feeling more my own (or maybe I just grew used to them enough to make them my own). And in the end, it did not matter how strange things might have been at the start, for I still believed every word I was singing to be true. Even the part about being gone, it was something I'd felt before, when I died, when I believed I was leaving my love behind... when the stars seemed to go out and I left my last breath in his kiss...

"Spring will melt the snows of winter  
And the summer gives us days of light  
So long till autumn makes them fade."

"Remember the sound of laughter  
We ran together through the meadows  
Still we thought our hearts could break."

I did not know when I'd closed my eyes, I usually didn't when singing for a crowd, feeling it was important for everyone listening to feel some kind of connection to me. But in that moment they no longer seemed to matter, I'd mostly forgotten why I was even standing there. Until I sensed him, my Maverick, my match, standing right in front of me. My eyes blinked open as easily as if I'd just closed them for a second, hazel meeting jade and I could sense deep inside him the same twist of feelings and thoughts I couldn't fully comprehend, even as they kept coming out of me in the form of song and magic intertwined. He knew something was going on, just as well as I did, even if neither of us had the slightest idea of what exactly it was.

"If you listen to the wind, you can hear me again  
Even when I'm gone you can still hear the song  
High up in the trees as it moves through the leaves  
Listen to the wind and I'll send you my love..."

I extended my hands to him, never stopping my song. I knew the climax of the song was coming, and a part inside of me felt the need to touch him, to feel him, to know without a shadow of doubt he was there... or maybe he was the one that needed that reassurance, with the song bringing up memories that weren't at all easy for either of us.

The moment our hands touched, it was like the final piece of the puzzle finally settling in place. As if something that I/we had been missing all along was finally where it belonged. And as I sang the last chorus of the song, I could feel every word resonate inside my mind, heart... my very soul. That was my song, my song to him, the reminder that I would always be there, in life and death, we were each other's lover, consort, match, soul-mate... everything. Our love was the kind that would never end, not by time and not by death, no matter what, we would love each other forever...

"Listen to the wind where the sky meets the land  
I'm not really gone I've been here all along  
High up in the trees in the sound of the leaves  
Listen to the wind there's no end to my..."

"Time is a river that flows to the sea  
And a life is a whisper, a kiss in a dream..."

My love timed it perfectly, bending to kiss me at the exact moment the song ended. It was a short kiss, tender, and very meaningful. We broke it after only a few seconds, and I immediately knew I wanted to kiss him again, for longer, and I knew in the corner of my mind that was connected to his that he felt exactly the same way. In that moment neither of us was really thinking about Jane, Thor, his parents, the guests... until we were abruptly interrupted by several of said guests, in a way neither of us could have ever expected.

"Lady Tinúviel!" A number of them called at the same time.

Loki and I pulled away as I corner of my mind realized that must be the name of the elven-lady Volstagg was always comparing me with, and which I could never remember... though it did not sound like I was being compared in that moment, in fact...

I didn't get to finish my thought when I became aware of someone staring straight at me with a mix of shock and... awe. A male elf of long dark hair with the slightest hint of curls and eyes of the deepest blue I'd ever seen, dressed in elegant robes of pale-silver-blue and burnt-red, with a thin silver circlet across his forehead (he was obviously someone important).

"Who is he?" I whispered under my breath, not able to take my eyes off him.

"Lord Erynion, he's part of the Ruling Council of Alfheim..." He told me quietly.

"Like the Council of Elders here in Asgard?" I asked just as quietly.

"Mostly, except they haven't had an actual Queen for... almost a thousand years now." My love replied. "The Allfather sent Frey there a long time ago to supervise, but even he isn't truly King. They have a court of princesses, but even they don't have absolute authority."

"Why do I feel like I've seen him before?" The question was mostly for myself, though I said it aloud anyway. "And why is he looking at me like that?"

There were no answers, and they weren't really necessary, for right then the elven lord turned to look at the Allfather.

"Allfather!" He cried out with such intensity I felt goosebumps on my skin.

The Eihenjar bristled but a motion from the King made them stand down.

"Is everything alright, Lord Erynion?" He asked in his most pleasant voice.

"Why?" Erynion's voice was suddenly low, though no less intense.

"Why what?" Odin really didn't seem to understand.

"Why would you hide such a thing from us? From Alfheim?" He asked, voice half-broken. "Why when you know we love her so? Why let us believe your son an Oathbreaker, taking a second wife, when it was her all along?"

I felt my love tense beside me, though I couldn't focus on it much, not when my own head was spinning. A second wife?! But my match had told me that he'd never really had a relationship with Hel's mother... And since we were a match, nothing could be stronger, I knew that. And yet, the elf sounded so sincere, he truly believed what he was saying... and the way he looked at me, like he knew me, like he... missed me? How could he possibly know me? I was no elf, but mortal, human (or I'd been). It didn't fit...

"Why didn't you tell us our princess was back?!" Erynion demanded loudly again.

"Princess?!" I wasn't even conscious I'd spoken out-loud that time.

"She doesn't remember..." The whisper ran across the room like fire.

"I know not what you speak of..." I admitted, holding myself back from reaching for him, like a part of me wanted to, the conscious part of my mind didn't think it to be a good idea.

"I knew you." Erynion said, looking straight at me. "A thousand years ago. Lady Lalaith Mirloth, princess of Alfheim, my ward..."

"I don't..." I shook my head, not knowing how to explain things to him without hurting him. "I cannot be who you say I am. I am human-born, my lord. Silbhé Salani, was my name, until my match renamed me Nightingale..."

"Tinúviel..." He agreed softly. "It's what he called you last time too."

"This is ridiculous!" This time it was my match calling out without thinking. "I would know if I'd had a wife before, and an elven princess at that!"

"Not if you'd been made to forget her, to forget everything." A soft, melodic voice called.

I knew who she was, Lady Thenidiel, the most powerful spell-weaver of Alfheim and part of the Ruling Council, I could also sense a connection between her and Erynion. She was one among few of the Ljósalfár who had spoken to my match without contempt. Did it have something to do with what Lord Erynion had said? About the elves calling him Oathbreaker for marrying a... second time? I did not understand!

"He went insane." The Allfather spoke abruptly. "It was for his own good."

"You made me forget something?! My own wife?!" Loki roared in fury.

"It matters not, you are married now, and the two of you claim to be a match." Odin insisted.

"It matters husband, if she truly is, like Lord Erynion has claimed, Lalaith reincarnated." Frigg offered neutrally, though there was a hint of something in her eyes.

"It's not possible." The King denied. "It is rare enough for a match to be reborn. A half of a match does not just come back, they cannot re-start the cycle of life and death until both are together on the other side."

"That's how it's supposed to be, yes..." His Queen nodded. "But there is always the chance..."

"She doesn't look anything like Princess Lalaith!" Odin was, most definitely, in absolute denial.

"It may not be the same body, but it is the same soul, I can see it." Thenidiel declared calmly. "And so can Prince Loki, it's why he chose her, even without being fully conscious of it."

"Her voice..." Erynion murmured, in a mix of grief and awe. "It's how I knew it was her. She still has the most melodic voice in all the realms. The very reason why she was named Lady Tinúviel, the Songstress, with a voice like the fairest birds in the galaxy." He turned to stare straight at me. "The one who gave up the crown and throne of Alfheim out of love for the second prince of Asgard, long has my people... our people sang songs about the intensity of their love. The match made in the stars..."

In an instant, I snapped. I couldn't keep hearing him say that. Odin Allfather's denial was nothing compared to mine; he didn't want to listen, I simply couldn't. My mind refused to process what I was hearing, its implications, it was simply too much for my human mind to comprehend.

I turned to look at my match, who was gazing at me with a mix of confusion and wonder, such intensity in his eyes, as if he were trying to see into me... or maybe he was hoping to see inside me and find... her. I didn't know, and I couldn't even think about it, I gave a step back, away from him, the last thing I ever imagined doing, before allowing instinct to take over as I sunk into the shadows at my feet.

**xXx**

My match found me eventually, kneeling in the middle of my rose-patch in Salani manor (the one in Maine). I wasn't even conscious when I'd crossed the Shadow Paths all the way to Midgard. I could sense our son inside the house, in one of the guest-rooms, he was sleeping.

"My love..." I whispered as I sensed more than saw him beside me.

I didn't know what to say. I couldn't even imagine what it must have looked like, for me to vanish so abruptly from the feast, leaving everyone else arguing, leaving my husband... but I just hadn't been able to handle it anymore. I also remembered Thor and Jane right then...

"Sh..." My Maverick must have sensed my restlessness for he focused on soothing me right away. "It's fine, my love. Everything and everyone is just fine. Everyone on Asgard understands it was all too much. Thor gave the order we were to be left alone until you were ready to return. Lord Erinyon offered to wait a fortnight in Asgard, unless you decide you'd rather not speak with him."

"What about you?" I was curious how he saw everything.

"I don't know." He admitted with a sigh. "Mother says I don't remember because I was made to forget. That I was insane and self-destructive and it was the only way to stop me destroying the world in an attempt at destroying myself. I also might have done a number of things that caused the Elders to hate me ever since..." He shook his head. "Somehow my forgetting made others forget certain things as well, which is why apparently no one connected you to her before. I..." He let out a breath. "I don't know if I believe any of it, though I don't think it should matter in the end. I am who I am, you taught me that... or reminded me, whatever. I am who I want to be, and I am with the person I want to be with... nothing else should matter."

It was obvious we didn't see things, or at least not this specific matter the same way. I wasn't sure if that was good or bad.

"I don't know if I can do it." I admitted in a half-sob, half-whisper. "I don't know if I can be her... this Princess Lalaith the elves believe me to be, or have been..."

"You don't have to be." My love hurried to assure me. "I love you Nightingale, Silbhé, for who and what you are, not who you might have been."

"I don't know if I even want to." I didn't want to say what was still in my head, but knew I had to, he deserved to know, needed to understand. "Because... because if I am really her, if I am the reincarnation of Lalaith Mirloth, Princess of Alfheim... do I love you for me, or for her? Are any of my decisions mine, or just a reflection of hers? Am I real, or just a place-holder?"

"You are real!" Abruptly my love took hold of me, twisting my body until I was facing him. "Do not make this mistake, my match, not the same one I made when I first learnt of the ice in my veins, the winter printed in my true skin..."

"But am I really your match?" I couldn't help but insist. "Or her? This Lalaith? She was your first-wife, and apparently your love was so great that a thousand years later songs are still being written about it! At least until you married me and Alfheim came to consider you a Forsworn for going against your oaths to her! For me!"

The whole thing was making me crazy, I did not think I could handle it.

We were kneeling, face to face, surrounded by my rose-garden in full-bloom, bathed by the silver-moonlight, which made the crystal in various shades of green, purple and blue scattered on my off-white dress sparkle beautifully. He was in his usual black and green ensemble, his black hair beginning to both reach his shoulders and curl, as it'd been a while since he'd last had a chance to cut it (I actually liked it more at that length).

"Some say I'm cruel but nobody knows what I feel for you  
My love, you're the only one, yeah, do you understand?  
I can't let you slip right through my hands

No, my love, don't try and run. See in my eyes, you and I are one..."

I wasn't expecting that. For so long I'd silently wished for my match to sing to me, and in that moment, it happened. Also, in that moment I could see a flash of an image in my mind's eye, of my love singing that same song to me, looking so sorrowful, repentant; only we weren't standing in a rose-garden, but instead one of flowers that looked as delicate as crystals, and shone as brightly as jewels under the bright starlight.

I would have gone down the same spiral once again, if my love hadn't distracted me as he did right in that moment. He pulled one one my hands to his own cheek, the other to my heart; before leaving my hands there to mimic the position with his own on my body.

"This is real... and this..." As he whispered the words he caressed my cheek and pressed over my heart in turn. "We Are Real..." He pressed a brief but loving kiss on my lips. "Our bond is real. Nothing else matters, my love."

He was right, a part of me knew that. And yet there was another part that couldn't help but still worry. I believed in his love, of course, how could I not? What I no longer knew was who I was supposed to be anymore: Professor Silbhé Salani or Princess Lalaith Mirloth?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you like what I'm doing with Thor and Jane, I just like their pairing so much, and they deserved a chance! Also, Sif will get her own too, I promise. Eventually... 
> 
> As for the other thing... I know things are confusing right now, but I promise it'll get better. And well, I would really like to know what you think about it. It wasn't planned at the beginning, not until I read a certain poem and heard a certain song (I'll reveal those in due time), and suddenly I couldn't get the idea out of my head. So, tell me what you think, and I hope you'll stick around for what's to come. 
> 
> Also, for those who might be wondering, 'that' is what the sidestory will be all about (I'm currently writing that one). So, see you next week for the conclusion to this second part of Nightingale's story, and the connection to our next sidestory. And those who might have ideas for AUs, let me know! I have some, but I always welcome more. 
> 
> Please comment!


	5. Fifth Element:

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Crossover with AoS and the answer to Nightingale's question of Lalaith or Silbhé.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, I am beyond insane, we all know that (and I'm quite sure most people had become aware of that long before today). I still hope you're enjoying where this is going, and what's to come... 
> 
> Here we go a bit into AoS, specifically Episode 1.07 "The Well", I don't think you need to have truly watched it to understand it, though it would help (I'm still changing a lot around). 
> 
> The first poem quoted in this chapter is Shakespeare Sonnet 18, and you can actually heard Tom Hiddlestone reading it in the app Book of Love (and in vids in youtube and tumblr). 
> 
> The second poem quoted is the first part of Unending Love, by Rabindranath Tagore (which I found online). 
> 
> Finally, this chapter's song is "A Thousand Years", originally sung by Sting, if you look up in youtube the cover from Harmonize Projekt 2 you will get an idea of how I imagine the song would sound when Nightingale sings it. The song is a sort of theme-song for my Loki and Nightingale (and the whole reason I came up with the 'reincarnation' theme, that song kind of caused it. Hope you enjoy it!

**Fifth Element:**

The Last Element is the mystery, the Unknown, what gives life and takes it...

The following morning my match and I decided we would rather stay in Midgard for a while. Take some time to truly take in everything that Lord Erynion, Lady Thenidiel and even the Allfather and the Queen had said at the feast, and the implications of it all. I still wasn't sure I was ready to accept it all. In my life I'd studied many cultures, history, folklore... I knew there were some who believed in reincarnation, they believed that a person was reborn, either because they had some sort of unfinished business, because they still had things to learn, or whatever other reason they might come up with. The Allfather himself had implied that such a thing was normal, only it was not supposed to happen when one half of the match was still alive, like Loki had been when his wife (supposedly I) perished.

It was too much for me, things I didn't want to think about. So instead I focused on other things. Like re-decorating one of the guest-rooms in the second floor to turn it into Hákon's bedroom. The walls painted a soothing sea-green (darker at ground level and lighter as it went up), sheets and bedspread to match. We also bought him some board-games, his favorite, as he loved to play with us, loved to have time when we were completely dedicated to him (which, regretfully had been rare in the last year, but Loki and I were ready to correct that mistake).

At my insistence we also fixed my old bedroom a bit, arranging it so it could be Hel's whenever she got the chance to visit. I knew my Maverick didn't fully understand why, as my step-daughter hardly ever left her realm, and had never had a chance to spend time in Midgard. Still, I thought it was only right for her to have a bedroom in any home of ours.

Ours was the master-bedroom, which took the entirety of the third-floor, with a luxurious double bathroom, sitting area, adjoining nursery/office and a terrace with a double-swing where we could cuddle-up together to watch the stars, the sunset or the sunrise as we wished.

Thor and Jane had gotten in touch with us, thanks to Lady Frigg's aid. They'd reassured us that everything was just fine in the Realm Eternal. The two were planning on staying longer, as Thor was 'negotiating' with his father Jane's acceptance. I could only hope he would succeed and Odin would accept Jane Foster as his son's future wife and Asgard's future Queen... it would make things so much easier. And I really hoped Jane wouldn't be subjected to the 'Trials', from what I'd read in Asgard's archives they were awful things, and most of the time impossible to pass. I could only imagine what would happen if someone tried to use such a thing to separate those two, Thor wouldn't take it well (neither would Jane, but Thor was in position, and had the power, to cause a lot more destruction).

A week after our arrival to the manor both my husband and I were much more at ease than we'd been that last night in the Realm Eternal. As it was a nice afternoon, we were spending it out in the garden, where Hákon enjoyed driving me crazy as he climbed the huge tree, jumping from branch to branch and doing all kinds of crazy stunts. Only knowing that my love's magic was on full alert and was fast enough to grasp him safely if he ever happened to fall, kept me from going completely crazy.

My match was in that moment half laying against the roots of the tree, with me laying across his body, head on his his lap, one of his hands carding through my hair softly while with the other he held one of my favorite books of poems, an anthology. I just loved to hear him all the time, and when his deep, husky voice was whispering love poems? It was the perfect moment:

"Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?

Thou art more lovely and more temperate.

Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May,

And summer's lease hath all too short a date.

Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines,

And often is his gold complexion dimmed;

And every fair from fair sometime declines,

By chance or nature's changing course untrimmed;

But thy eternal summer shall not fade,

Nor lose possession of that fair thou ow'st;

Nor shall Death brag thou wander'st in his shade,

When in eternal lines to time thou grow'st.

So long as men can breathe, or eyes can see,

So long lives this, and this gives life to thee."

I let out a quiet sigh, I so loved hearing his voice, and since most of the time he wouldn't sing to me (and when he had, the night of our arrival, it'd also confused me more), hearing him read love poems was the best I could hope for in that moment.

I stayed where I was, smiling, waiting for him to turn the page and read the next poem... except that did not happen. It took me a moment to realize why, but eventually my senses grew sharp enough to perceive the fourth person standing on the edge of the garden, the one who was not family, and whom we most certainly hadn't invited...

"Welcome Director Fury..." Loki called sarcastically.

He put the book down on the grass, but did not try to sit up, or allow me to move from my spot. We might speak to the man, but we most certainly had not invited him into our home, the place that was supposed to be our sanctuary.

"Good afternoon, no need to get up..." The man replied in the same tone.

"Good thing I wasn't planning to." My love deadpanned. "What are you doing here Fury?"

"The Professor said some things to Agent Shadow..." The Director left the rest in the air.

"Things..." My match repeated, before abruptly remembering and nodding. "Right, I suppose you are talking about how she pointed out it's a really bad idea to try and lie to the God of Lies, or his match, for that matter."

"I believe another thing that was mentioned was how you better have a very good reason for this farce..." I added in a snippy tone.

"There are reasons why, for the time being, it is necessary for Agent Phil Coulson to remain dead, officially." Fury stated, authoritatively. "Reasons that are of no concern to you."

Yeah... that's wasn't going to fly with us.

"No!" I snapped, sitting up abruptly. "You see, you don't get to do that. You don't get to play with the lives of people like that, like they're your puppets. I've about had it with people doing that!" I really had. "I have no idea what made you think it was a good idea to make such a lie, and worse than that, what made Phil go along with it. The only redeeming detail at this point is that at least you did not keep Darcy from her match!"

"And I have a feeling you would have done exactly that, if you could have." Loki added calmly, straightening up as well.

Fury didn't say a word, though his silence was answer enough.

"Now, what are you doing here Nicholas?" I asked, using all my authority.

"You know things you shouldn't, and while I don't like it, and will never understand how you even know anything... I have to make sure you will not be sharing this information with people who must remain in the dark." The Director insisted. "There is a reason why this is privileged information and..."

"And you have no authority over me, or my match, Director." My Maverick interrupted him, voice cold. "Do not presume to be able to command us the way you do your army of spies and toy-soldiers. We are so far above you, you cannot even comprehend."

"Unlike you, I do have a modicum of respect for the people I consider my friends." I stated in my hardest tone. "I shall not say a word until I've spoken with Phil. But make no mistake, Director, I am not doing this for you, we are not doing this for you. We're doing it for Phil, because he's our friend. But if I find out that you do not have a good reason for this lie, you will come to regret it. I will not stand by and watch as people I care for mourn the loss of someone who's still alive!"

It was obvious Fury really didn't like what I was saying, but there was nothing he could do, no way he could change my mind. And even if he probably didn't consider me much, he certainly had a healthy respect/fear for my husband and did not try to pressure me (though I was sure that if I were to decide to reveal his farce he would certainly do anything he could to block me... not that it would do any good, but still).

**xXx 3** **rd** **Person POV xXx**

Phil Coulson was tired. He'd had a hard few weeks... hard few months actually, but who was counting? Still, it was in moments like that, when he felt at his lowest, that he missed his family more than anything. None of them may have been related to him by blood, no, he'd lost that family a long time before... but they were his family still. Brothers, sisters, nosy-friends... his wife... at least she knew he was alive, when no one else did. Phil honestly did not know what he would do if he didn't have Darcy.

He could still remember her call a month earlier. He knew Nick Fury had sent her to London after Dr. Foster, there were strange things happening (which was apparently, why Dr. Selvig had called Jane Foster there) and the Director had decided it was a good idea to have an experienced Agent in the area. And who better than Darcy, whom so few knew the true scope of her abilities as well as how high her rank was? There was a reason she was called Agent Shadow... She'd been his protege and assistant, later on his partner; and ever since his 'death' she'd also become his only contact with all the people he'd had to leave behind.

She'd called him shortly before the mess on Greenwich began, telling him how there had been some kind of invisible black-hole in some warehouse, Dr. Foster had said something about gravitational anomalies, then she'd gone missing for five hours, and returned not knowing so much time had passed, and then Thor was there, and he took Jane away, and the black holes began appearing all over the UK... She'd been calling for help, any help. She knew he couldn't be there, not only because Jane, and Thor and others weren't supposed to know he was alive, but also because he and his team were on the other side of the world, and even with how fast the Bus was there just was no way they would get there in time.

Thankfully, things had gone alright in the end. He'd heard from Agent Hand about the dozen of young adults that had apparently aided in the battle, in limiting the damage, using something they called magic, even though the Agent did not believe it. She was quite alright with aliens being able to wield forces she couldn't understand, they were aliens, but humans? That was too much for her to accept. And the fact that some girl had stood up to her and in a very pointed tone told Hand that she wouldn't be going anywhere near that group, or getting any of their names, phones, addresses, nothing... it grated on the woman who'd lived for SHIELD and its protocol for so long. Phil himself had once been like that, until he'd met people like Tony Stark, Jane Foster, Darcy Lewis... people who'd shown him there was more to life (both as an Agent, and as a person) than the rules written in some handbook.

"Darcy..." He murmured, mostly to himself, reaching beneath his shirt, to the object he kept hidden there, hanging from a chain.

"We're ready to report." A female voice interrupted his thoughts.

It was the Bus's pilot, field agent and one of his oldest, most trusted friends: Melinda May.

"Be right there." He nodded, forcing himself to focus back on the present as he followed her.

The rest of the team were already in the main room of the Bus, standing around the holo table and discussing their findings thus far. He'd already read Skye's (their consultant, computers expert and former hacktivist from the Rising Tide) findings about the Norse Paganist group, as well as its leaders: Jakob Nystrom and Petra Larsen. The report was aided by their especialist: field agent Grant Ward. Next were the two scientists: engineer Leo Fitz and biochemist Jemma Simmons (commonly referred as FitzSimmons, due to the fact they were always together), who explained what they'd been able to discover from the scan of the imprint the stolen artifact had left on that tree in Norway. As he approached he could hear them reach the same conclusions he already had: about there being at least two more pieces to the weapon and the paganists most likely going after those as well.

"And markings?" He didn't actually hear who asked the question, just focused on answering it:

"The Asgardian symbolism." He announced as he joined his team. "Hard to translate with our limited knowledge."

"You should give your buddy, the god of thunder, a shout." Skye suggested. "He gets his power from his hammer, right? What if this is his nail to the hammer?"

By the disbelieving looks the rest of the team turned to the honey-haired, chocolate-eyed young woman, Phil knew they thought her to be a tad crazy. Truth was most of the time Skye's theories bordered on the insane (past the fantastic), however, considering the world, the universe they lived in, and everything Phil had seen in his life (especially the last few years) he wasn't the kind to dismiss anything just because it sounded 'impossible'.

"I already did." He told her with a nod. "Director Fury told me he's off the grid, most probably on Asgard, Dr. Foster's with him." He shook his head, remembering what Darcy told him in their last call was their intention when Jane left with them. "Though he did say he was sending an expert to help us with this."

"An expert?" Ward asked, disbelieving and a tad sarcastic. "On what? Myths and magic?"

"Considering what we're dealing with here, that might be exactly what we need." Skye insisted. "Besides, who says those myths weren't real? I mean, Thor is, and Loki, and who knows how many others there might be!"

"They're certainly not gods!" Ward insisted.

"Maybe not." Skye gave him that. "But they're something, something beyond human..."

It looked like the argument might have gone on for a while, and as entertaining as it all was (and as much as it made him wonder how Skye knew anything about Loki, since SHIELD had never released his name); they had work to do.

"S.H.I.E.L.D.'s investigations are on the trail of Nystrom and his followers." Melinda cut them off quite effectively, returning everyone's attention to the matter at hand.

"We're charged with identifying the object and finding any other pieces before they do." Coulson added for good measure.

"They seem to have some advantage." Ward commented, eyeing the 3-D model in his boss's hands. "They found this thing in 150 square kilometers of Norwegian forest."

"An advantage we hopefully will get back once this expert gets here..." Melinda commented, looking at Phil intently, as if hoping for him to elaborate on that more.

"Do you have any idea who they're sending?" Skye asked promptly.

"No." Phil answered honestly. "There are few people, in this day and time, who specializes in things like mythology and such. I met both of them shortly after the happenings in New Mexico, though only one of them stayed to work for SHIELD, if only for a year." He let out a sigh, at the memory of the people who could not know he was alive. "Right now the easiest person to get in contact with would probably be Prof. Elliot Randolph, at the University of Seville, in Spain..."

"Wrong." A soft but strong voice called from behind them. "The easiest person to get in contact with would be me, since I'm already here."

Everyone spun around in unison, not expecting someone to have entered the Bus without them noticing. Phil didn't need to, he'd known who it was from the moment he first heard her voice, it wasn't the kind one would forget, ever.

"Agent Coulson...?" She called, a hint of danger in her usually melodic voice.

The team turned to him them, noticing is obvious uneasiness.

"Yes?" He asked, finally turning to look at her, wincing at the coldness in her eyes.

"Is everything alright?" Melinda asked, noticing there was something off between the two.

"Everything's just fine Agent May." The woman stated, turning her eyes away from Phil, finally, as she turned to see the others. "Fury sent me to help you..."

"Aren't you well... a bit young to be an 'expert' on Norse mythology?" Ward asked, doubtful.

"Hey!" Skye smacked him in the arm. "You shouldn't underestimate people like that. They might surprise you when you least expect it."

"Thank you, miss... Skye, right?" The new-arrival shook the hacker's hands.

"Just Skye is fine." The brunette assured her.

"Alright." The hazel-eyed nodded, before facing the team as a whole and introducing herself. "I am Professor Silbhé Salani-Hvedrungr, and you will discover, Agent Ward, that I am an expert in a lot more than just Norse mythology." With a wave of her hand she brought her own profile up on the main screen. "I'm also one of few people on this planet that can separate old myth, from reality, seeing how I've lived through a lot of it."

"You know Thor..." Skye realized, shocked.

Meanwhile, the rest of the team was just as shocked, except their focus was on the information that had been revealed on the screen. The list of Masters (History, literature, mythology and folklore), languages (10) and such... and the fact that she had been involved with the aftermath of both New Mexico and the first chitauri invasion, as well as closely involved with the preparations for the second. Professor Salani-Hvedrungr truly seemed to be a surprise.

Everyone thought that, except Phil, who could only wonder what she was doing there, and just how bad their 'conversation' was going to go, because he just knew there was going to be one, and judging by the way she kept glaring every time she looked at him, it was not going to be pretty... not at all.

**xXx**

Not-pretty was a huge understatement, in the end; though Phil knew it was nothing he did not deserve, after the things he had done. It did not matter how much he knew they needed to be done, Silbhé was still right in many things...

Inside his office, shielded by a silence-ward to make sure the rest of the team wouldn't overhear their private conversation (they both knew at least one of them would be as close as possible to the door to try and find out something about the odd 'professor'; though it was hard to know who was likelier at that point: Melinda or Skye). Phil fidgeted silently behind his desk, waiting for the moment when Silbhé would snap at him, yet she didn't say a word, just stared at the older man until he broke instead:

"So... how are you here?" He asked, wincing at the hesitance in his own voice.

"How do you think?" She retorted with a roll of her eyes. "And really, all we need to talk about and you decide to ask that question?"

Phil let out a breath, though he knew she was right so, finally giving up on idle chit-chat, he dove straight into the heart of the matter.

"When Fury told me he was sending someone to help, he didn't say it was you." He admitted. "How did you even find out..."

"Like we told Darcy, and Nicholas, you do not lie to the god of lies, or his match." The hazel-eyed woman stated pointedly.

"Silbhé..."

"Do not 'Silbhé' me Philip Coulson..." She hissed lowly at him. "You lied. To all your friends, to your family. You lied to Jane... to the Avengers... to Clint and Natasha! I haven't seen them yet, but considering how grieved Jane and Thor were, I can only imagine how those two are feeling!"

"Silbhé..." he tried to interrupt her.

"Thor nearly cried!" She yelled at him. "You nearly made my brother cry! Loki was all for turning you into a maggot for doing that, you know?"

"And why didn't he?" The Agent wasn't sure what prompted him to ask that question, but he did.

"You didn't lie to Darcy." The hazel-eyed woman revealed calmly. "And we could feel the bond between you. He knew Darcy wouldn't like it if he hurt you, and since he sees her as a little sister..." She shrugged. "We... I want to believe there is a reason why you're doing all this, this... charade." Her voice turned anxious again, and louder. "There better be a good reason Philip Coulson, otherwise I am going to show you why the Aesir call me goddess of devotion!"

"It's for their own safety..." He admitted after what seemed like forever.

"What...?" That, she hadn't been expecting.

"Remember when Tony told us about what had happened to him and Pepper that December?" Phil asked her quietly. "About Aldrich Killian, Maya Hansen, AIM, the Extremis..."

"I remember." How could she not? "He, Pepper, Happy, Rhodey, the President and a bunch of other people almost died, some actually did." She shook her head, wishing there had been some way they could have helped. "What does that have to do with anything?"

"Well, as it turned out, the Extremis wasn't as lost after that event as we would have hoped." He admitted. "And I'm not talking about Tony. Nick still suspects that he did perfect the formula in the end, that it's how he managed to get the arc-reactor and all the shrapnel out; he just has no proof." And they both knew Fury never would. "However, someone else got the formula of the incomplete version of that, along with remains of chitauri technology, a bastardized version of Erskine's super-soldier formula and some gamma radiation; with it they created what is known as the Centipede Serum."

"They're trying to create super-soldiers?!"

"They already did. A few people died as a consequence of the instability of the Extremis. We only managed to save one of the test subjects. His name is Mike Peterson. He caused some trouble in California back in January but we managed to make things right. In the end he was only trying to make a better life for himself and his son... FitzSimmons, whom you've already met downstairs, managed to create a drug that neutralized the explosive part of the Extremis before he actually blew up. He's currently undergoing training in a SHIELD facility and might become a field agent one of these days."

"That's good. But what does that have to do with you making everyone believe you're dead?"

"I actually began investigating the Centipede Project since last year. It was a risky assignment, so I was doing the work mostly on my own, though Darcy kept track of me, just in case. We didn't realize it but, they knew I was there. Not sure how long, but eventually they went after me. I'm not even sure how I survived that assassination attempt, it was a miracle, if I'm completely honest with you, and a close call... close enough that I was actually reported dead before I got the chance to get in touch with either Nick or Darcy in a safe manner. By the time I managed to get back, word had spread about my death. Nick decided to leave it that way, said it was for my own safety, as well as everyone else's..."

"And a way to have you continue the investigation, off-the-record."

"Something like that too, yes." He sighed. "Darcy of course, never believed the story that I was dead. Though I'm not quite sure..."

"She can sense you... through that." Silbhé signaled to the object beneath his shirt. "You can do the same, if you focus."

Phil did not reply just reaching for the object, hand above his shirt.

"I'm curious." The auburn-haired woman admitted. "They are obviously magical but, who gave them to you? They don't feel like something created by the Secret Circle."

"They were a gift." The Agent told her. "Though, as you've deduced, not from them. They asked me, asked us, not to reveal their identity, said it was important they remained in the shadows for a while longer. Though it was implied that they would come to you eventually."

The Professor just shrugged. A part of her wondered who might be strong enough in magic to create a set of objects so powerful, yet at the same time be able to disguise the magic-signature so well even she and Loki weren't able to make it out. However, by Phil's words it was quite obvious that whoever had done it knew about them (Loki and her) and had implied they would be meeting in the future... maybe there was a good reason to wait. In any case, that wasn't what she really needed to be focusing on in that moment.

"We will help you." She stated.

"What?" This time Agent Coulson was the surprised one.

"Loki and I." The woman clarified. "We will help you. Not only with this case right now. We will help you investigate this Centipede Project, and the people behind it."

"Why?" He blurted out before he could stop himself.

"Because the sooner we solve this, the sooner people can stop mourning you." She got on her feet and made to leave the office, only looking over her shoulder at the last moment. "Still, I shall not be the one to tell Clint and Nat that you lied to them..."

Phil did not answer, even as Silbhé opened his door and left, he did not have to. He knew that she was right, there was going to be hell to pay when those two found out the truth... And yet, if it got him his family back, he was willing to do almost anything...

**xXx**

It was a mess. After identifying the object from the 3-D print, the next step had been to look up the myth connected to it, the verses were helpful, especially after comparing them with sites of viking ravaging in the last millennium. It's how they all ended in Seville, Spain. What made it messy was that there was a third party ahead of them, going after the same piece of the artifact. He managed to obtain it before either Ward or Skye did, only to lose it afterwards. No one knew for sure what had happened (though Silbhé was working on it), too many people had been involved, and all had left before anyone from SHIELD reached the place.

At least they found the other person who'd been looking for the object, it turned out to be none other than Professor Randolph. Phil took him to the secure-room (which acted like cell most of the time), before going to interrogate him, asking Silbhé to keep watch over thing and call him if she noticed anything important.

So, in the end, the whole team ended up standing by a screen showing the inside of the cell, watching Agent Coulson interrogate the professor; even as FitzSimmons worked on finding out what touching the artifact had done to Ward exactly.

"One of my men is hurt." The Agent was saying. "The staff is gone."

"I didn't want any of that to happen." Randolph said, he sounded honestly regretful about that.

"What did you want?" Phil asked next. "The staff's power for yourself?"

"Nothing like that." The professor assured him. "You know, I just wanted to be the first to study it, to prove that the Berserkers were actually here, a part of history. You think about that?"

"Oh, I'm thinking about it."

"He's lying." Silbhé stated nonchalantly after hanging up her cell-phone.

Everyone turned to look at her. The team had been mostly ignoring her, since she'd been talking to someone in a language neither of them could understand. But the moment she said that, they reacted instantly.

"How do you know that?" Skye asked, curious.

"No one can lie to me." Silbhé deadpanned. "You can call it my 'little talent'. It's been proven, you can ask Director Fury if you don't believe me..."

The younger members of the team had no idea what she meant, but Melinda, cunning as she was, couldn't help but wonder if Phil's survival was somehow involved. From the very moment Salani had arrived it had become obvious in the expressions of the two that they knew each other; and yet, from all who'd known Phil Coulson in the past, only a handful of high-ranked and very important individuals in SHIELD knew he was alive. For Silbhé Salani to have known him before and be aware of him still being alive... May just knew there was something going on, even if she didn't have the slightest idea what.

"Is that part of being a genius?" Skye asked. "I mean, you knew what the thing was just by looking at the impression of a part of it, found the right myth instantly, even remembered most of it even before finding it, you broke up the verses and signaled us to the right place..."

"I've been studying mythology for many years, Skye." Silbhé told her with a small smile. "And working with SHIELD allowed me to separate myths from truth..."

"Did you know about the Berserker staff before today?" May asked, eyes narrowed.

"I knew they existed." The young professor nodded un-hesitantly. "I had no idea any had been left here after the Ice War."

"The Ice Wars?" FitzSimmons inquired, intrigued.

"A little over a thousand years ago, King Laufey, ruler of Jotunheim, the realm of the Frost Giants, attempted to conquer the realms of Yggdrasil." The hazel eyed lectured. "They were well on the way to taking over this world when the Aesir intervened. Odin Allfather guided his army and after a battle that lasted days and nights on end, the Frost Giants were defeated. While the war ended here, it did not start here, it lasted for years, across all the realms. Many soldiers died." She shook her head, as if remembering something. "There came a moment where the Asgardian Royal army was no longer enough, there were too few of them left... and that's where the staff comes in. Asgard needed a bigger army, so they began drafting. But the people who enlisted had no training to be warriors, so they were given the staffs, which had magic that would help them fight better. It did not make them soldiers, nothing like that, but it called on their rage, their hate, and gave it direction, made it a fuel for them to fight with." She sighed. "They were called the Berserker army, wild men who fought in a frenzy, no formal training, no finesse, just instinct and all their rage powering them. It is said the staff made them faster, stronger, harder to kill... it's my personal belief that it made them care so little about themselves they had no care for their own lives, or their own limits."

"How do you know all that?" May said, very serious. "Most of what you just said is written in no text at all. Where do you get your information?"

"I can assure you it comes from very trustworthy sources." The auburn-haired waved off the her suspicions. "And even if you do not trust me, Phil does, that should tell you something."

"Why do you call him Phil?" Skye pipped in. "I thought no one did that."

"I get the honor because I've known him for a while now." The professor said honestly. "He was my boss at one point, and has since become a good friend..."

She would have mentioned his wife, but somehow she did not think anyone in that place knew about Darcy... and maybe it was better that way.

Their attention was called back to the screen, and Phil's interrogation of Randolph, which seemed to be approaching an end, if only because the man wasn't giving them anything useful.

"How'd they find it?" The Agent insisted.

"I have no idea how they found it." Randolph declared strongly. "They may have the original texts. I wasn't involved. You know, it was just a chance to uncover something that the gods brought down from the heavens..."

"Aliens brought it. From space." Phil deadpanned. "I've spent some one-on-one time with aliens before. Didn't work out too well. So cases like this are personal to me."

"That's all I know." Randolph obviously wasn't saying anything else.

"Get comfortable." Phil left after that.

They needed only to wait for a few seconds before Agent Coulson joined them.

"So?" He asked as he stepped in.

The question was general, but everyone could see the way his eyes fixed on Silbhé.

"He was lying regarding his intentions when recovering the piece of the staff, which I'm sure you have realized already." She told him calmly. "And by the way, no need to worry on that front. The Paganists don't have it. Luka got there in time. It's in his possession."

"Luka?" Several voices asked at once.

"Dr. Luka Hvedrungr, my husband." Silbhé clarified.

"That is a highly dangerous object and should be placed n the care of SHIELD, for safety." Agent May stated almost coldly.

"Right now it's safer exactly where it is." Silbhé retorted calmly.

"She's right." Phil agreed, to everyone's surprise, before May could argue the point further. "We wouldn't know what to do with it anyway."

"And her husband would?" May snorted in disbelief.

"You don't know my match, Agent." Silbhé told him stiffly. "But maybe one day you will."

"Anything else?" Coulson asked, to evoid another argument right then.

"He's Asgardian." Silbhé's words left everyone flabbergasted... except Phil.

"That's impossible!" Ward and May called out at the same time.

"Only improbable." Silbhé dismissed the comment easily. "I have a feeling he's the reason the berserker staff is in this world at all."

"I think so too." The lead Agent agreed. "The way he reacted when I spoke about spending one-on-one time with aliens, or more like, not react at all... it was a dead give-away."

The hazel-eyed girl nodded, though the Agent knew it was not how she'd been able to tell he was not human, she had her own ways.

"What now?" Ward asked.

"I'm not sure." Phil admitted. "I don't think Randolph will willingly give us anything useful. Even knowing he's Aesir won't really help us here."

"Our priority should be locating the missing piece of the staff." Silbhé pointed out. "Above all, we cannot allow that thing to fall into the wrong hands. It'd be too dangerous."

"Think Luka will be able to locate it with the help of the one he already has?" Phil asked, having deduced why her husband had gone after the other piece himself.

"That's the idea." She nodded.

As if on cue, her cellphone rang. There was a hurried conversation in Gaelic, which the Agents did not even attempt to follow, knowing there was no point. They only waited for whatever the professor might say once the call ended, and she did not disappoint.

"We're gong to Ireland." She announced. "An old monastery to be precise."

**xXx**

In the end Phil did work on interrogating Randolph for the second time while the Bus flew to Ireland. Mainly because Ward wanted to know more about the effects of the staff and what he was in for, and Silbhé had already told them everything she knew. The man seemed a bit put out when he realized the team had already found out the truth, without needing for him to tell them anything at all. Though Silbhé stood out of sight... and far enough that he couldn't sense her aura and realize she wasn't human (not fully/anymore).

Yet again, things got messy, though the team seemed better prepared that time, or at least more willing to dive in and deal with it.

Silbhé had kept to the back of the group at first. She'd sensed that something was off from the moment they stepped into the monastery. The old man's excuse that the monks had taken a vow of silence simply not cutting it. The fact that her husband wasn't around was also making her anxious. Apparently something had happened near Greenwich, some kind of beast had been found in the nearby park, huge, and most certainly not from Midgard. Fury had called him, asked him to get rid of the creature before trouble began anew; apparently one inter-dimensional mess was more than enough for the time being. The young woman, of course, had assured the husband she would be alright, she could take care of herself. She also did not expect to have to fight.

At first her focus had been on the injured professor. A stab right into the heart was no minor thing after all. Though she had dealt with such wounds before. She considered using her own magic to deal with it, before remembering the vials in her bag, that gave her an idea.

"How is he?" The lead Agent asked the two who were trying to help the professor.

"I don't know what to do." Simmons admitted, even as she kept her hands pressed on the man's chest, trying to stop the bleeding. "He's not human."

"He's dying." Coulson pointed out the obvious.

"Yeah, we know." Fitz nodded, barely keeping calm. "But she doesn't understand his anatomy."

"It's not that different from humans." Silbhé, standing beside them, stated. "But right now you don't need to understand it."

Before FitzSimmons could ask what she meant exactly they saw her passing a small crystal vial over to Phil, who seemed to know what it was, for he took it with a smile.

"Move your hands away Simmons." He ordered.

"But if I do so, he'll bleed off." She complained, even as her hands began moving.

"No, he won't." Phil assured her.

The moment the biochemist's hands were away, Coulson poured the entire contents of the vial straight into the hole in Professor Randolph's chest, causing a squeak from the two scientists.

"Dirtying the wound won't help him!" Simmons cried out, horrified.

"It's not dirt, Simmons." The lead Agent actually chuckled at the assumption. "It's healing powder. It'll help him."

"Isn't that thing Asgardian?" Fitz asked, confused, as he turned to look at his boss and the petite consultant in turns. "I think I remember reading a mention of it somewhere..."

"How do you even know that thing works?" Simmons asked, more intrigued than affronted.

"Because it saved my life once." Their boss told them calmly.

As if on cue, the professor drew in a sharp breath, his eyes opening slowly. He looked down at himself, his finger running across his chest, through the remains of blood and dust.

"Asgardian healing stone..." He murmured in understanding. "How did you have access to this?" His attention was called to the redhead standing beside him, whom he'd only seen at a distance until that moment. "You..."

Silbhé didn't give him the chance to say anything, as something else called her attention to the edge of the second level of the monastery right then. From there she could watch what was going on bellow. Grant had managed to defeat Nystrom, quite a feat considering that the paganist had a piece of the staff, while all the Agent had to go on were the remnants of the one time he'd touched it (and even then, only briefly).

However, that wasn't really what called her attention, no. Skye was trying to reason with her S.O., trying to get him to calm down; May keeping an eye on him, making sure he stayed away from the piece of the staff Nystrom had dropped. And then the door was broken down, allowing what looked like about a dozen paganists, all enraged, all looking for Nystrom and the piece of the berserker staff they knew was in that monastery.

"Get back!" Ward yelled at the two women, even as he began reaching for the staff.

Silbhé decided in that moment that she'd stayed back long enough. She was there to help, to protect; and right then, they clearly needed her help. She'd tried to surreptitiously use a sleep enchantment on the paganists, but the rage caused by their interaction with the artifact was too strong and couldn't be broken that easily. No, they would need to be taken down the old-way, the hard-way... she knew people who would have enjoyed the chance for such a fight. She didn't, yet she was going to do it anyway...

Phil, FitzSimmons, and Professor Randolph could only watch quietly as the petite, auburn-haired, hazel-eyed woman slipped off the long dark-leather trench-coat she'd been wearing (which reached to her mid-calf) since her arrival to the Bus, never taking it off; beneath was revealed what looked like an elaborate, layered attire in various shades of violet. A flick of her wrists and finger-less gloves were added, at the same time her mid-back length hair pulled on its own into a twist at the nape of her neck.

"She's Asgardian too..."

It was all she heard Randolph whisper before she jumped off the terrace and to the middle of lower level.

"Go with them." She told Ward without looking at him.

"Wha...?" No one understood any longer.

She didn't pay them much attention. Simply bending down to pick up the piece of the berserker staff. It truly was an awful sensation in the pit of her stomach, and in her chest. As if someone had injected an extra-high dose of adrenaline and... something else into her bloodstream, her every nerve on fire, muscles burning for a fight. Until she called on her magic, deep inside, the pieces of her beloved that were so deeply entrenched in her own soul they'd long since become a part of her too, to keep the effects of the staff at bay. She'd need the strength, there was no doubt about that. Even though she was technically Aesir, her body was still mostly like it had been when she was human, more fragile than most would expect. Didn't keep her from fighting though; nothing ever could.

"You shouldn't touch that..." Agent May called, tone hard.

"Believe me when I tell you that right now I'm the best person to deal with this." Silbhé told her, the slightest hint of ice in her voice showing the fight to stay in control.

"Why should we believe you when we still haven't the slightest idea of who you are?" May demanded. "The profile from SHIELD's database that you brought up was a nice touch, but you missed one thing. Professor Salani-Hvedrungr is dead, she's been dead for more than two years now, there's no way you can possibly be her!"

"Oh I am her alright, or I was." The hazel-eyed's answer just confused them further. "If you want a more honest name you can call me Lady Nightingale, princess of Asgard..."

"Another Asgardian..." Skye whispered in awe.

"She's the one Agent Hand spoke to in Greenwich." Ward added, he'd read the report.

Nightingale didn't give them any chance to question her further, not that there was any time really, not with the dozen rage-crazed paganists approaching. She twisted the broken staff in her hand a few times, testing for the best hold possible, before using her free hand to draw out her favorite among her blades: a crystal dagger with a guard in the form of a Celtic triple-knot, the triquetra; it was a gift from Sif. Then, thus armed, the fight began.

It was a fight, inside and out. As the power in the piece of the staff kept trying to take her over, showing her things, trying to make her into another Berserker... but Nightingale's will was simply too strong, as it had been proven time and again, and the magic inside her, her match's energy, helped her too. So, really, the fight inside was a two against one, there was no way she could lose. In the 'fight out' she had a disadvantage numerically, but berserkers were predictable, always fighting the same way: head on, all yells and brutish force, no intelligence, no tactics whatsoever. So, after a little while, she won that one too.

Her strategy was a pretty simple one. Using the staff, or the butt end of her dagger to knock unconscious as many of the paganists as she could; hitting them in specific parts (articulations and pressure points) to take them down when a hit to the back of the head was not enough. Only using the blade to cut through the back of their knees, ankles or shoulders (in very specific, well-studied moves, meant to disable and not kill) when absolutely necessary.

The moment the last paganist fell and did not get back up, Nightingale dropped the piece of the berserker staff; convulsively opening and closing her hand, as if trying to rid herself of the touch of that thing (even if only her fingers had touched it, as her palm was protected).

"Awful, awful thing..." She murmured, before adding a few more choice words in a variety of other languages.

Skye was the first who dared approach her, a courage inside her Nightingale couldn't help but find admirable, even as Ward and May watched her warily.

"Are you alright?" The young hacker inquired, honestly concerned.

"Fine..." Even as the sorceress said she shivered. "Awful thing, had never felt such magic in my life... like an infection spreading inside my body."

The two young women were interrupted before either could do or say anything else, by two more individuals breaking into the place. One of them the blonde they all recognized as Petra Larsen, the piece of the staff that had been recovered from Norway, in hand.

"Oh, you've got to be kidding me." Skye groaned.

Three people moved at once, Nightingale, as well as Agents Ward and May, all reaching for the piece of the berserker staff at the princess's feet, ready to fight. However, before either could reach it, another figure appeared in the middle of the monastery. Dressed in his usual green, black and gold, and towering over everyone else in the room. They all recognized him instantly, even Phil, FitzSimmons and Professor Randolph watching from the second level, though only Skye dared say a word.

"Loki, the god of mischief and lies..." She mumbled, shocked.

The aforementioned mischief-maker smirked at her before turning his eyes to the broken staff on the ground, and then at the petite princess beside him, who had sagged the moment she laid eyes on him, feeling so much safer with him there.

"I leave you alone for a few hours and this is what happens?" He teased her. "You're worse than Thor, Sif and the Warriors Three put together!"

"Am not!" Nightingale actually pouted. "It's not like I go looking for trouble."

"Indeed, it just seems to have no problem finding you." Loki replied.

May made a move to speak, probably to remind them of the approaching rage-crazed paganists. When Loki waved his hand wide once, creating a concussive wave that sent the two humans flying, before they crashed hard, one against a wall and the other a column. It was enough to knock the man out, though the woman was persistent. Loki stopped her from reaching the piece of the staff she'd been carrying, kicking it out of reach, before using the flat of his hand to deliver a blow to the back of her head, leaving her unconscious too.

For a few tense seconds not a word was spoken, until...

"Loki..." It was Phil, he and the others had descended.

"Son of Coul..." Loki acknowledged him with a half smirk.

"Wait a second." Fitz called abruptly, ignoring Simmons's attempt at shutting him up. "Isn't Loki supposed to be a villain?"

"Indeed." Loki smirked at him mischievously. "Just like your boss is supposed to be dead."

Once again it looked like May wanted to intervene, but a touch from Phil stopped her, even as he opened his mouth to do the same, only to be stopped by an imperious look from the second prince of Asgard, he really did not care about whatever excuses the man might give (and he'd already heard the reasons given to his match). What was done was done.

With a wave of the sorcerer's hand, the missing piece of the staff appeared. The effect was immediate, as the three, seemingly guided by some kind of magic inherent in the artifact pulled them together, until the staff was reformed.

"We should call SHIELD to take that thing away..." May murmured, reaching for her phone.

"You will do no such thing." Loki told her authoritatively. "That thing is Asgardian and belongs nowhere else but in the Realm Eternal. The last thing we need is people in your organization getting ideas, we all remember what happened the last time..."

Truth was, at least some of the younger people present didn't seem to know, but at least Phil, Ward and May (grudgingly) knew he was right. So, with another flick of his wrist, Loki sent the staff into his sub-space pocket.

"Excuse me, miss..." Even as Ward gathered the courage to try and talk to Nightingale, he wasn't quite sure how to address her.

"She's Lady Nightingale, goddess of devotion, princess of Asgard, my match and consort." Loki presented her in a very theatrical manner.

"Just call me Nightingale." The hazel-eyed added gently, not wanting to make the Agent feel bad or anything. "Was there a question you wanted to ask me?"

"Yes..." He hesitated a moment more before finally speaking. "I'm sorry if this is personal but, when you held the staff, did you see something?"

"You h... you actually..." While Loki had sensed the turmoil in his beloved's mind and soul, he hadn't realized what the reason was. "Of course you did... I don't know why I'm even surprised."

She could feel as he began focusing his magic on cleansing her, chasing away whatever remnants of the staff's power there might be. Too bad they couldn't do the same for Ward, but a normal human wouldn't be able to handle the shock of a foreign power inside their body; it was enough of a wonder that he'd done as well as he did with just the staff...

"Yes, I saw something." She acquiesced serenely. "It's like Professor Randolph said, the Berserker staff works by shining a light in dark places..."

"But that doesn't mean anything..." Simmons contested.

"It's a metaphor." The princess clarified. "It means that it brings forth things you usually keep hiding, things that are hard, dark, that fuel your anger, your hate, turning them into rage..."

"And you..." More than one person seemed surprised at the revelation.

"Of course I have such memories." She said, still in the same even tone. "Everyone does. Even if some are worse than others..." She took a deep breath, before going into the hard part. "Mine were less specific memories and more a mix of images and feelings, all connected to the one creature in the universe I despise... Thanos..."

She truly, honestly hated that monster in a way she'd never hated anything or anyone else, in a way she would have never believed herself capable of.

"How..." Ward hesitated before asking his other question. "How do you... how do we get over this? Get past it?"

"There are different ways." Nightingale told him honestly. "It mostly depends on you... though, if you want my advice, do not ignore it. Ignoring your problems never works. You need to face them, to understand them. You need to move on, rather than just 'past it'. Having someone you trust there helps too..."

She did not have to think hard to know who would be quite willing to do so; what she couldn't be sure of, was if he would take the advice and accept the offer. And there was nothing the princess could do about it either. It was all up to Ward.

**xXx**   **Loki's POV xXx**

I couldn't help but smile as I stepped into our bedroom that night after putting Hákon to bed. It was the kind of thing my Nightingale and I did together whenever possible, but she hadn't believed it to be a good idea when there might still be something of the berserker's aura on her. Our boy was such a sensitive child... she didn't want to risk hurting him in any way. I also knew she was sore and exhausted (hard as she tried to hide it), which was why I suggested she take a relaxing bath while I read a story to Hákon and put him to bed.

By the time I reached our rooms Nightingale had long since left the tub. I found her standing on a corner of the balcony, off-white robe loose enough on her frame that one creamy shoulder could be seen, as well as the top of the pale green chemise she was wearing (one of my favorite pieces of sleep-wear on her).

I couldn't help but admire the sensual creature that was my wife for a while; until I eventually noticed how pensive she looked and couldn't help but worry.

"Is everything alright, my love?" He asked softly.

"Yes..." She whispered.

She couldn't lie to me and yet... she wasn't exactly lying, but I could tell, from the way she kept looking into the distance, it was as if she were trying to find answers to her silent questions in the moonless sky, in the stars... and she wouldn't look at me. So, I knew she wasn't lying, but she wasn't being completely honest with me either. Still, I did not call her on it. There as no need, I knew if I was just a little patient she would tell me.

"I was just remembering a little conversation I had with Skye, earlier." She proved me right almost a minute later.

"Did she say something hurtful?" I couldn't help but like the girl, for some reason, yet she wasn't exactly tactful, from what I'd seen.

"Not at all." Nightingale said honestly. "It just... it left me thinking."

Again, I waited. However, instead of hearing an explanation, I eventually felt a nudge inside my head. My match was offering me a peek into her memories, so I could see the conversation myself. I allowed that part of her to pull me in.

_The brunette hacker approached Nightingale as she stood beside the van, watching as Agent May and the Son of Coul supervised the arrest of the paganists (I was with them, as Phil had asked me to use my magic to make sure the effects of the Berserker staff had worn-off enough that the criminals wouldn't pose a risk to the human authorities taking them into custody). Meanwhile the younger members of the team were taking some things from the Bus as they would be staying in a hotel for the night. The other Asgardian, Elliot Randolph, had already left for his home in Seville, after announcing he'd decided it was time to move on and start over._

" _Excuse me, Princess Nightingale." The hacker called._

" _Just Nightingale is fine." My match told the girl._

" _Alright..." The young girl seemed a bit awkward, but pushed on. "I was wondering, about what May said before, of you being dead..."_

" _You were wondering how the records say I'm dead, yet here I am." My love guessed._

" _Well, not quite that." That was a surprise. "I suppose it's only normal for people as long lived as you. I mean, you're practically immortal! And you don't age! It's obvious that you would have to fake your death every so often to start over."_

_Nightingale didn't seem to know what to say to that._

" _That's what I wanted to ask. One thing I don't understand. I mean, if you faked your death so you could move on, why come back to SHIELD? And if you already worked for SHIELD, and they obviously already knew about Asgard and everything, why fake your death? And on that side, Prof. Randolph's been here for a thousand years, how about you...?"_

_It seemed like as she got more confident, she began asking even more questions, something that actually made my beloved laugh a bit._

" _Easy!" She told the girl. "One question at a time. Though I suppose it all comes down to this: I did not fake my death Skye. I did die, two years ago, and then I became this." She took a deep breath. "I was born mortal. When I said that my name was Silbhé Salani I did not lie, I was really given that name upon my birth. Things happened through my life, I met Loki, we became friends, eventually fell in love and got married; I got that job with SHIELD..."_

" _That sounds so amazing..." Skye said, awed. "I suppose you cannot tell me more, it's probably classified and all that."_

" _Fury probably would say that." Nightingale admitted with a shrug. "I don't care about such things. However, what my life-story is, is too complicated to tell it all right now. Especially since I have a son waiting at home, who will want his Papa and I to put him to sleep."_

_There was a shadow of something in Skye's eyes right then, it vanished so suddenly one might have missed it, but not us. It made both of us wonder at the girl's past, her family. There was something about her, something in her aura, she wasn't entirely human; yet it was also more, a hint of something, of a touch... but I couldn't discern it._

" _Anyway." My match continued. "Things happened and I died. It was during the second chitauri invasion, in May, two years ago."_

" _The report said the cancer killed you." The brunette pointed out._

" _In a way it did, though it was more complicated than that." My love shrugged a bit, not wanting to go into more detail._

" _It's amazing..." The young hacker breathed._

_Nightingale arched a brow, not really understand what was supposed to be amazing..._

" _I mean, you got another chance." Skye explained. "It's like... like one lifetime wasn't enough, for you and Loki, your love... so you got another one. It's so romantic!"_

_She did not say more, instead moving away, still giggling to herself at what she'd said. My match could only watch her leave in silence, profoundly shocked._

I wasn't sure how I hadn't noticed it the moment I approached her. She'd been right when saying it was late and Hákon would be waiting for us (and only the considerable difference in time-zones helped us make it back in time), but still. At least I could see it in that moment, how shocked she was, how contemplative Skye's words had left her. It wasn't her death, no... or at least not her most recent one. It was the way those same words applied to the other one, the one both of us had tried so hard not to think of.

"I never saw it like that, you know?" My love said right then. "Ever since I first heard than man... elf call me Lalaith, say I was a reincarnation and all that... all I could think of was that I wasn't who I thought I was. How could I know how much of my current life was influenced by the other one? How much of what I call mine now actually belongs to her...?" She shook her head. "Then I heard Skye say that: 'one lifetime wasn't enough'... And I couldn't help but wonder, if that was it. If maybe it was never supposed to be about Lalaith and Silbhé... but about Nightingale. Lady Thenidiel said that the body was different, but she could sense the same soul... so it's not about her and I... because both are me."

I did not say a word, just waiting as she worked it all out. Truth was that, from the very start I hadn't been able to help feeling that they were all right. I might not be able to remember any of it, but it just seemed right. The idea that we were together in the past, and after something (we still knew not what) separated us, we were given another chance, another life. It also explained why sometimes I felt like I'd been waiting for her for so long... long before I met her in that rose-garden, trying to imitate the birds' song.

"I think..." She hesitated just a moment before conviction covered her features. "I want to know. I want to know if I'm really her and... and if it's possible I would like to remember."

That one I wasn't expecting, and I knew it showed in my expression.

"It's just, the idea of having loved you before, it's enticing." She admitted. "But it's more than that too. It's... If they're right. If I am this Princess Lalaith Mirloth of Alfheim, your first wife... that means I'm Hel's mother."

"You already are Hel's mother." I deadpanned.

"I know that, of course, it's just..."

She couldn't put her thoughts into words, but there was no need, I could feel it as strongly as if it were a part of me. She loved Hel like a daughter, always had, but a part of her mind was always reminding her that Hel was only her step-daughter; making her doubt herself, fear that she might never be enough in comparison to Hel's birth-mother. Except, now it turned out that that might be her. Abruptly, I couldn't help but wonder if Hel remembered, if she'd known from the very start. Had she always known who my Nightingale was? That her Mama was truly hers... If so, since when? Since she had entered Helheim? Since the two of us wedded? Since I went to her looking for a way to save my dearest friend from dying?

I made a decision in a second and was saying the words even before I was fully conscious of it:

"I might be able to help then."

My match turned to look at me then, confusion and wonder in her eyes. I flicked a wrist, feeling the moment the tiny bottle filled with the pale-blue liquid dropped into my palm, coming from the subspace pocket.

"Mother made this potion." I explained as I showed it to her. "She says it'll bring down the blocks that were created around my memories of what happened almost a thousand years ago. My time with Lalaith, our marriage... with us being a match, it's quite possible that its effect would extend to you, bringing out the memories hidden in your soul. It might not give you back everything..."

But it would give her enough, enough to prove she was Lalaith. I myself did not need any proof, even without evidence I knew, deep inside, that she was my one and only love. Names, faces, races... all those were details mattered little, it was her essence, her soul I truly loved. It actually reminded me of something she had told me, many years before, when she was but a child, so innocent, yet already so strong:

" _...do you look like, blue, or green, with horns…or something like that?" She'd asked me. "Not that I have anything against it if you do, really, I promise..."_

I could still remember that day. It was almost funny, how much impact those words kept having on us, more than a decade afterwards.

Nightingale smiled, it took me a second but I realized I'd sent the memory down our connection without noticing. To think how we'd begun, and how far we'd gotten since then, except... except apparently we'd begun before, centuries before, and it'd only taken us this long to get back to where we'd once been, to where we belonged.

"So..." She began, eyes fixed on the potion still in my hand. "Are we doing this then?"

"If that's what you want..." I murmured.

"If it's what I..." She broke up, eyes wide at me. "What about you Maverick? Is it, is any of this what you want?"

"Whichever choice you make I'll be happy with." I assured her, evasively.

"That's not really an answer, is it?" She smiled, she could see through me so easily...

"I'm being honest." I told her (and how ironic that if she were anyone else, just those words would be enough to make her distrust me, but not her, never her). "If you want to know I'm with you, if you don't, I'm also with you. If you want to know what I think: I think that I love you, so much I have no doubt I will still love you a thousand years from now; and for the same reason I would have no problem believing that I've loved you for a thousand years already. I told you before, sometimes I feel that I've been searching, waiting for you, long before I met you out there in that garden..." I couldn't help but breathe in her scent: honey, lavender and a hint of the roses she'd spent most of her childhood and early teenage years surrounded by. "It doesn't matter what anyone else says, or believes. They don't rule our lives, only we do that. The past is of little relevance; what's done is done, we cannot change it, or go back. All that's truly important is us, our bond. It's like I told you before: We are real, what we have Is real... everything else is completely inconsequential."

"I..." I could see her take a deep, slow, almost shuddering breath, like someone about to dive into deep, unknown waters. "I cannot precise what I want right now but... I think I... no, we need to know. I think it is important, even if I'm not sure why just yet."

"Very well." I could feel the same thing, even if I hadn't said it. "Lets do this then."

We left the balcony, going to lay down on the bed. It was safer, as there was no way of knowing what exactly would happen once I drank that potion, though I was fairly certain at least I would drop unconscious. It would be far more comfortable if we did that on the bed, rather than dropping on the balcony.

She took off her robe, before pulling down the covers and carefully arranging herself on the bed. I took off my shirt; I'd always preferred sleeping in just sleep-pants... or in the nude, though with the little boy liable to walk in on us at any moment I'd taken to wearing at least pants. I laid down beside her, gazing at the lovely face of my wife; I knew she was waiting, but I wasn't willing to do things without first making sure there was not a doubt in her head about the things I'd been telling her all night, and since the night we'd left Asgard.

"Never forget that I love you, forever..." I whispered into her lips a moment before I kissed her.

"Forever..." She agreed when we broke the kiss.

I could feel her left hand reaching for mine, intertwining our fingers and then twisting until we had the other's hand before us, the claddagh tattoos in our fingers in stark contrast with our light skin tones (her soft-cream, mine pale alabaster).

"Mo Anam Cara..." She whispered, placing a kiss on my knuckles.

"Mo Anam Cara..." I could do nothing but return the gesture.

Then without letting go, I used my free hand to bring the small bottle to my lips, raising my head just enough so I could swallow without problem. The potion tasted of lemon, and had a potent smell of sage and rosemary. The last thing I was fully aware of was my beloved's hazel eyes gaining a strange sheen, almost as if there were suddenly stars shining in her eyes. Then I went under, falling into a storm of color and light, of memories, of joy, and pain, and sadness, and bravery, and honor, and battle, and despair and... love...

_An elven princess in an elegant, elaborate red gown, her auburn-haired piled up on top of her head in a very intricate style, with a crown of fresh flowers to adorn it and a smile that never seemed to reach her hazel eyes standing on a dais... A girl in a simple pink dress, feet bare, with ringlets of auburn hair cascading down her back, stray petals and leaves seemingly woven between the tresses; her smile was so bright as she sat in between the roses it almost shone brighter that the stars above... both were the same._

_A black-haired, emerald eyed Aesir prince who always seemed to be in the shadow of his blonde-haired, blue-eyed brother... a sorcerer with the ability to travel between the worlds, who would explore all the realms, adoring chaos and watching life pass by, until the day he first lay eyes on an elven princess surrounded by roses in bloom..._

_Songs of hope... songs of love... songs of grief..._

_The story of two lives, of one soul in two bodies, told in songs, a necklace of songs..._

" _I seem to have loved you in numberless forms, numberless times…_  
In life after life, in age after age, forever.  
My spellbound heart has made and remade the necklace of songs,  
That you take as a gift, wear round your neck in your many forms,  
In life after life, in age after age, forever."

_Tradition for Destiny, Duty for True Love, Envy for Compassion, Fury for Mercy; one by one walls fell, nothing could be stronger than their match, a union that gave birth to light..._

_Friends and Family: Two Aesir warrior-ladies, so different from each other, and at the same time so alike; three creatures other than Aesir (or anything humanoid), all caring so much for them; two brothers, neither by blood, though both tied to them by bonds stronger than any they could have been born with; a human couple with a destiny greater than either of them knew, a love binding them as tightly as the two Aesir, through time and space. And then there was the light: of the world, of their eyes, of their lives: their daughter..._

_Enemies: The Enchantress Sisters, the cause of most of their grievances, one of them with her obsession over Thor, and the other taking it as a personal affront that Loki wouldn't continue her training after they'd both used it for nefarious purposes. In the end, nothing they did was enough, the sisters still managed to cause grief... and death..._

They'd lost so much much... We'd lost so much... I'd lost... My friends, my brother, my daughter, my match... I should have died, the moment she did. Everyone knew that for a matched pair it was a much kinder fate when they both died together, for when one half survived, they almost always ended going beyond insane, self-destructive in wild attempts to regain that which they'd lost. They had to be put down...

Except that's not what happened to me. Od... Al...Father refused to put me down, refused to let me go. He erased my mind, made me forget everything that might hurt me, though that had consequences, for me, and for everyone else. It made me wonder if things would have gotten as bad, for both Asgard and Midgard, if I'd been allowed to die when I wanted so badly to; made me wonder if Father regretted not killing me when I asked him to...

But I couldn't be truly angry with him. I knew that in the end, he did the things he did, out of love. It must be hard for him, loving his sons yet not knowing how to express it, from what I knew his father hadn't exactly been the best example where fraternal love was concerned. It probably wasn't easy for him to see me go through all that, all the suffering, the pain, the soul-shattering grief... I couldn't imagine ever having to see one of my children go through the same. I hoped such a thing would never happen.

In the end, at least, things turned out alright... or as much as anything could be after everything that had happened, both back then and in recent years. I had my match back, my Nightingale, my Tinúviel, what else could I ask for?

**xXx Nightingale's POV xXx**

It took several seconds for my head to clear when I regained consciousness. The first thing that came to mind was the same question I'd gone to sleep thinking of: Was I Lalaith or Silbhé? The answer was the next thing to come to me: I was none, not really. I might have been each of those girls at one time, but just like a thousand years prior I'd left behind Princess Lalaith Mirloth to become Tinúviel; I'd also shed the identity of Professor Silbhé Salani (for the most part) to become Nightingale. Tinúviel... Nightingale, they... I were the same. My body might look nothing like it had back then (though some basics remained, my hair was a bit redder, my eyes a bit darker, though some said my voice had hardly changed); my soul, though, was the same.

And really, body aside, the essence of me hadn't changed at all. The elven-princess who'd given up her claim on the throne of Alfheim was the same as the young professor who'd given up her job and any chance for a normal human life in Midgard to stand by her match. I'd always been willing to do anything for my beloved, and that was never going to change...

"A'maelamin..." Loki whispered huskily, reaching with a hand to my face.

"Fintalëharyon (trick-prince)..." I replied in a whisper.

If anything was new (or old, depending on one's point of view) it was that we'd added a whole score of nicknames to use with each other... and I'd 'learnt' a new language (more actually, as Lalaith had been well-versed not only in elvish but also in dwarvish, and a couple of long-lost-tongues from very long before)!

The moment my mind finished clearing, the first thought I had was enough to nearly send me into full-blown panic:

"Hákon!" I cried out, sitting up fast enough to give myself vertigo.

"Easy, love..." Loki sat up beside me, holding me until my dizziness subsided. "He's alright..." He shifted as he became aware of something else. "Our daughter is here..."

His statement made me react without me being fully conscious of it. I barely had enough thought to pull the dressing-gown over my sleeping clothes before leaving the bedroom, feet bare and with no thought for the quite cold floor beneath me. I didn't even pay any attention to my match, hurrying after me; my thoughts on one single person:

And there she was: lithe figure, porcelain skin unblemished but for the scars consequence of the same curse that had taken my life in my previous life, hair black like a raven's wing in perfect curls, cascading down her back; blue-green eyes, shadowed by long-standing pain, though she still smiled at the kid (black hair, blue eyes) sitting on her lap, playing a simple but seemingly very entertaining game with their hands...

"Helena..." I breathed out the moment my eyes laid on her.

Her head raised abruptly, eyes meeting mine. For a second, not a word was spoken. I could hear Hákon calling to me, to us, as if from a great distance before he jumped from his big sister's (his big sister, my daughter...) lap and rushed to us, Loki picking him up before he could reach me. My whole attention, though, was on her... she looked older than me, had for as long as I'd known her in my human life... yet that did not change who she was, and more importantly, who and what she was to me...

"Mama..." She murmured, before doing a double-take. "Did you just say...?"

"Helena..." I repeated, switching to elvish as I added: "Cala amin (My light)..."

"Nana!" She cried out before throwing herself at me.

I couldn't help it, we both ended sprawled on the carpeted floor of the music-room (where we'd found her and Hákon) but neither of us minded, not really. We were just so happy to be together again, after so long...

Something lit up inside me then, as I thought over Hel's favored address for me since we'd gotten to truly know each other. She'd taken to calling me Mama, over 'Mor' which should have been more familiar to her, or the usual Mother the Aesir used. For the longest time I'd thought nothing of it, but what if? Mama sounded incredibly like Nana, the elven word for Mom... What if?

"How long?" I asked her quietly, though without letting her go just yet.

"Nana...?" She repeated, making it sound like a question.

"Exactly." I nodded. "How long have you known?"

She lowered her head briefly, as if ashamed, to which I responded by tightening my hold on her and kissing her hair lovingly.

"It's alright, little one." I murmured. "You've done nothing wrong. I'm just curious."

"From the moment Ada visited me and told me he'd a friend called Nightingale..." My daughter admitted after what seemed like forever. "The elves and anyone else might have believed him capable of fully forgetting of moving on... I knew better." 

My love froze, as did I. To think that she'd known all along, and we hadn't... how hard must that have been? To have her parents back together and them not know it?

"Oh my dear..." I murmured, pained for her sake.

"How is that possible?" My match asked, voice hoarse with feeling. "Everyone forgot, A... Father said that and..."

"I never forgot." Helena explained quietly. "I changed my name for your sake, never spoke of the past, but I always knew... there is a reason why I'm called the Goddess of Grief..."

My match was on his knees beside us, and pulling the two of us into his arms before either of us had the chance to say anything.

"I'm sorry..." He murmured to his daughter. "I'm so, so sorry..."

"Ada..." Hel really didn't seem to know what to say.

"I know I'm not the father you wanted, or deserved but... you gave me another chance, and I promise things will be better now." He assured her.

"They are already better." Our daughter assured him, assured us both. "They've been since the two of you found each other again..."

"Then they'll get even better." I promised her. "Because now we know the truth, and we're all whole again... we're a family, a real family again."

"We were already a family." She pointed out. "It was one thing I loved about you. Even when you openly called me your step-daughter, it was obvious you truly loved me, not just as Adar's child, but as your own..."

"Of course I did!" I said immediately. "Blood matters little to me. You're my daughter Helena, have always been."

"Does that mean I can go back to being called Helena?" She asked, almost timidly.

"You have always been Helena." We both told her at the same time.

She was. Helena, our child, the light of our lives...

**xXx**

The moment we set foot in Asgard again, it was as if we were entering a whole new Realm Eternal. At first I thought it was only having gained over a hundred years worth of memories, 98 of those having lived in Asgard as its princess and Loki's wife. Ad then Heimdall greeted me:

"Princess Tinúviel..." He murmured, bowing his head respectfully at me.

"Nightingale is still just fine, Heimdall." I assured him, reminding him of the odd friendship we'd struck since my arrival in my new life. "It means the same, and it's still me."

"Of course, princess Nightingale." He nodded, still stoic (though he relaxed minutely).

"Ah... is Er... Lord Erynion still here?" I hesitated just a second before asking.

"Yes, my lady." Heimdall nodded. "The Queen convinced him to stay one more day."

"She probably knew we would be coming." Loki shrugged behind me.

"Indeed, my lord." The Gatekeeper agreed.

Loki shook his head but didn't say anything, instead he just helped us get on our horses. He remained just as silent as we rode down the Rainbow Bridge and through Asgard until one too many Aesir bowed to him (to us) as we passed... he lost it shortly before we reached the palace.

"What in the abyss is wrong with these people?!" He snapped. "They've hated me for the better part of the last millennium... and suddenly everyone's looking at me like... like... like I'm Thor!"

"Nonsense." I snorted, unable to help myself. "They're not looking at you like you're anyone but yourself, my love. They're just finally seeing you..."

"When the huge spell was cast all those years ago, it wasn't just you that forgot, Ada." Helena explained him, us. "Everyone in Asgard did. It was necessary to keep you safe. Only, it seems that forgetting all about Nana also meant forgetting why you'd done certain things... including those you did while driven by pain and grief..."

"Everyone thought I was just crazy, or evil..." Loki mumbled, mostly to himself.

"They didn't understand anymore." Helena tried to make him understand.

"And now they suddenly do?" He still wasn't buying it.

"I think that the potion you said Grandma gave you woke more than just your memories and Nana's..." Our daughter began, thoughtful.

"You think everyone else remembers now too..." I realized.

The prospect left me honestly breathless. The idea of being able to recover not just my husband and daughter, but the bond I'd once had with everyone else, especially Sif... while we certainly were friends, in my previous life we'd been almost as close as sisters. And...

"Does that mean...?" My throat half-closed at the mere thought in my head. "Erynion...?"

"He's never forgotten Nana, none of the Ljósálfar ever did." My light said quietly. "They never agreed with Grandfather's decision to use that spell... Wanted nothing to do with it. It's why Asgard's relations with Alfheim have been so delicate in the last nine centuries."

And to think how great they'd been back when Loki and I (Tinúviel) were married and traveling across the Realms as ambassadors.

"They would see it as defying the will of the Stars." I nodded in understanding. "After all, it was by their will that we were a match and..."

"And with the elves, whenever one half of the match is lost, the other loses themselves to grief, letting themselves die shortly afterwards." Helena finished for me.

I nodded, I'd explained things to her back then, being a Ljósálfar myself, and with Loki always helping Thor on the battlefront whenever the need arose, there was the very real possibility of my dying one day, and the last thing I wanted was for my child to feel as lost as I had after both my sister and mother died back then... before I understood that it wasn't that they didn't love me, it simply hadn't been in their power to stay, especially not Merilwen's.

"They could understand Loki not losing himself to grief, they always understood he was no Ljósálfar..." I commented.

I could remember other instances when such differences had shown, although most times Loki would surprise me, surprise us all.

"Yet they knew not what I truly am..." Loki mumbled.

He was being quiet, but there was no real sting, no self-deprecation in his voice, not anymore. If anything good had come from remembering the past, it was maybe the knowledge he'd gained concerning the truth about his family, Odin's 'plans', and how much the man truly loved him... also, those memories had brought my own recent arguments with the man into perspective.

"Erynion knew..." I reminded him.

It was never planned, but of course he'd found at one point, as did Sif. Too bad my beloved ended up losing not only me but them as well... at least we'd gotten another chance. Skye's words rang inside my head:

" _...you got another chance... like one lifetime wasn't enough... so you got another one..."_

Another chance indeed, and not just for the two of us, but for all. Family, friends, love...

When our little family of four first stepped into the palace, at first not a word was spoken, we all just looked at each other in tense silence until... motion. Suddenly Sif moved, she was in Loki's arms, holding him tightly before anyone could say anything.

"You idiot!" She shrieked at him a second later, slapping the back of his head.

"Good to see you too Sif..." My Maverick quipped with a smirk.

"It feels like its been so long, yet I saw you just a fortnight ago..." The raven-haired goddess of war mumbled, finally turning to look at me.

"Imagine how we feel." I deadpanned.

Really, my head was still spinning! I had a feeling if I were still human I'd have never been able to handle it, two lives? One where I'd lived for more than a hundred years before dying, while pregnant with my second child, victim of a curse, victim of an insane woman... and the things Loki had done afterwards... I'd only gotten a slight glimpse of that, and I knew a part of him feared my reaction where I ever to find out everything. In the end, I knew I would love him, no matter what he might have done.

Nothing else was said for a few moments and, slowly, I began looking around, until my eyes laid on the figure standing in the far end of the room, half-behind a column, with black hair, deep blue eyes and dressed in elegant grey elven robes... Yet again I refused to think things over and simply followed my instincts. I let go of Helena's and Loki's hands (Hákon was in his arms) sprinting across the Throne Room, not caring about what the Elders might think or say, I just ran and eventually threw myself into the arms of the one man I'd seen as my brother, years before ever meeting Thor Odinson (or Loki, for that matter).

"Toron (Brother)!" I cried out in delight as I embraced him as tight as I could.

"Tinúviel..." He breathed out, holding me just as tight. "Seler amin (sister mine)..."

"Princess..." I heard another voice behind him.

Blonde, light-blue eyed, in her usual white, Thenidiel was there too. The moment my eyes laid on her I remembered so much of her: a spell-weaver, back then Lady Santiel's apprentice, she was always meant to be the successor... just as she was always meant to be Erynion's match. No words needed to be said there, she knew I was happy for them, they truly deserved each other. And she had waited long enough for him to see her.

"Tinúviel..." Another called me then.

I saw Odin then, staring at me like he'd never seen me before. Memories rushed through my mind: his face the first time Loki had introduced me to his parents, the revelation of my beloved's heritage, the plan... the day of our wedding. It helped me understand why he'd been so rattled by my singing that song, the same one Loki had sung for me the day we were wed. The problem had never really been that the man did not care, but that he did (too much, as far as he was concerned) and knew not how to express it.

"Atar..." I addressed him by the most archaic form of 'Father' in elvish, just like I had in my past life. "I am back..."

"The world brightens with your return, mine daughter." He nodded, joy in his eyes like no one had ever seen before, and then he turned to Loki and it only grew. "My son..."

The only one who had no idea what was going on was Jane, but she didn't seem to mind at all. She was just happy that Loki and I were back and we all were smiling.

That night, another feast, another song... There was no need for an introduction, everyone knew who I was, and when the song began, no one had any trouble guessing what and who I sung for:

"A thousand years, a thousand more,  
A thousand times a million doors to eternity.  
I may have lived a thousand lives, a thousand times  
An endless turning stairway climbs to a tower of souls.  
If it takes another thousand years, a thousand wars,  
The towers rise to numberless floors in space.  
I could shed another million tears, a million breaths,  
A million names but only one truth to face..."

"A million roads, a million fears,  
A million suns, ten million years of uncertainty.  
I could speak a million lies, a million songs,  
A million rights, a million wrongs in this balance of time.  
But if there was a single truth, a single light,  
A single thought, a singular touch of grace.  
Then following this single point, this single flame,  
The single haunted memory of your face."

"I still love you...  
I still want you...  
A thousand times the mysteries unfold themselves  
Like galaxies in my head."

"I may be numberless, I may be innocent,  
I may know many things, I may be ignorant,  
Or I could ride with kings and conquer many lands,  
Or win this world at cards and let it slip my hands.  
I could be cannon food, destroyed a thousand times,  
Reborn as fortune's child to judge another's crimes,  
Or wear this pilgrim's cloak, or be a common thief.  
I've kept this single faith, I have but one belief."

"I still love you...  
I still want you...  
A thousand times the mysteries unfold themselves  
Like galaxies in my head.  
On and on the mysteries unwind themselves  
Eternities still unsaid  
'Til you love me..."

Yes, a thousand years we'd loved each other, through time and space, through life and death; and we would continue loving each other, to the end of time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, that's it for this chapter, and for Nexus! Please don't forget to comment!
> 
> If you have any doubts, ask and if possible I'll answer. However, chances are that the things I did not go into here is because they're part of either the sequel or one of the companions I'm planning. On that front, I implied things regarding Nightingale's past life and did not really go into details, that was intentional. Mainly because it'd have been too long, and this story was alright as it was. That's where Nexus's sidestory/companion comes: "Necklace of Songs" will tell the story of Loki's and Tinúviel's life together, all the way to an extended version of Loki's and Nightingale's return to Asgard after recovering their memories (I'd to limit that scene as I couldn't go into details I hadn't explained first). 
> 
> So, I'm taking next week off, because I'm exhausted, and besides this fics I'm currently working on translating my second novel into English so I might be able to publish that one in both languages (my mother language is Spanish) at the same time next year. Hope some of you might be interested on that too. 
> 
> In two weeks, though, the first chapter of Necklace of Songs will be up, that one is three chapters long. By the time the last one is up I hope to have a plan on how to handle the next round of AUs. 
> 
> So, that's all for now. Again, don't forget to comment, please. See ya around!

**Author's Note:**

> As always, full-sized poster and a set of wallpapers can be found in my Deviant-Art account (my name is Princess-Lalaith there). Hope you'll like them. 
> 
> Updates will happen every week for this story, might slow again for the next. 
> 
> Future plans: After Nexus will come a new set of AUs (fewer this time, probably only four or so). Before we fully dive into the third part (fourth if you add the side-story) of this series (which doesn't have a name yet), where I will go more into Agents of SHIELD, Captain America, X-Men (movieverse) and a few other things. You're welcome to suggest ideas and pairings, there are some still for grabs and if people make a good enough case (and it fits with my universe) I will follow your advice. 
> 
> Please don't forget to comment. Tell me what you like, what you don't like, what you think is missing, that kind of thing. See ya around!


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